


To be Invincible

by Ameriphobia



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Fluff and Angst, Major Character Injury, Multi, basically a glorified sky high au, mentions of past parent death, superhero college?, superheroes and sidekicks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 21:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 87,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4495899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ameriphobia/pseuds/Ameriphobia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata Shouyou's parents were two of the greatest superheroes to have ever lived, and all he wants is to follow in their footsteps. But when Hinata gets the chance to attend a university specifically made for training superheroes, he realizes that this goal may be farther away than he'd thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Going up

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is my very first fic for Haikyuu, and I'm really excited about it. It started out with me thinking that a Sky High AU would be pretty cute, but it has very much become it's own creature since then. I'm not completely sure how many chapters there will be, but the plot is pretty much plotted.
> 
> I'm going to be away from my computer for a week after this, so if I get any comments it may take me a while to respond, but I always do eventually! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy it.

Hinata Shouyou hadn’t slept all night.

He had gone to bed early, jumped under the covers with the idea in his head to get a full night’s sleep before the big day- his very first day of university. After an hour had passed, and Hinata still lie awake in bed, heart beating hard enough that he could hear it and mysterious patches of sweat developing underneath his armpits, Hinata had decided get up, cool off, and get a drink of water. He then had returned to bed, feeling refreshed and ready for the most well-prepared and goddamn restful night of sleep anyone had ever had.

By four o’clock in the morning, however, the situation had started to look a little bleak. By the time the dark sky had begun to glow with the promise of a budding sunrise, Hinata had given up on sleeping completely, avidly convincing himself that it was excitement, not nerves, which was keeping him conscious. 

And, he reasoned, who wouldn’t be too excited to sleep? After all, Hinata Shouyou wasn’t going to just any university. No, the university he was going to was special.

Because Hinata Shouyou was special. He just knew it.

About an hour after Hinata had watched the sun peek over the mountains from his window, he began to hear the familiar sounds of his mother moving around in the kitchen, and sighed in relief. His eyes felt sore and dry, and his stomach was turning in anticipation (excited anticipation, he reminded himself, not nervous anticipation) and all he wanted was for the waiting to end. He had been waiting for this day his whole life: the day he could go somewhere where he didn’t have to hide, where he could be with people like him, where he could learn and get stronger. It was everything that he had ever wanted. 

Hinata reached for the red marker on his desk, and checked off the date on the calendar with finality, smiling softy to himself. April first. The day that would change his life forever.

Hinata’s exhaustion was already giving way to his enthusiasm, and he bolted out of his bedroom door and down the hall. It was too late by the time he had realized that he had forgotten to pace himself, and by the time he stuck out over the first stair, he had gathered a little too much momentum. 

He felt a familiar sensation- the feeling of the air moving, rising up to meet him at his feet. It swept him up, filling him with an almost intoxicating sense of weightlessness. For a moment, the air held him, and Hinata hovered above the staircase, reveling in the feeling of flight.

Then, it dropped him.

Hinata plummeted down, his bare foot catching the step below him at an awkward angle and sending him flying down the staircase on his back.

“Ugh,” he groaned at the bottom of the staircase, reaching behind him to rub his now bruised spine. He really wished that, just once, that sudden, thrilling burst of flight wouldn’t end with him in a beaten  
heap on the floor. 

Before he could get up, he was greeted by the image of his concerned mother standing over him. She was wearing an apron patterned with little colored flowers, and her graying brown hair was tied back into a messy bun.

“Shouyou,” she sighed, holding out her hand to help him to his feet, “How many times do I have to tell you to be careful?” 

Hinata rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, mom. I’m just so excited!”

His mother smiled a kind smile, her eyes turning warm like melted chocolate. “I know, sweetheart,” she said. Then she examined his face, and her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t sleep, did you?”

Hinata looked away from her, wondering how she always managed to do that. His mother may have been super-human, but mind reading wasn’t supposed to be in her repertoire. Hinata felt her hand on his face, and he slid his eyes back to meet hers.

“I didn’t either,” she admitted. “You know, Shouyou, it isn’t too late for you to just go to an ordinary college….”

Hinata yanked his head away from her hand, shaking his head. “No, mom,” he groaned, “We talked about this. I’m going to Sora! I want to be a hero, just like you and dad.” Then he hit her with his most  
radiant smile.

She shook her head, smiling. “I know, Shouyou. And I love you for that. But you know why I worry, after what happened to your dad….”

Hinanta saw the first glimmer of tears beginning to form in her eyes, and wrapped her in a hug before they could spill. His mother was tiny, just like him, and over the past few years Hinata had gained a few inched on her. He held her, trying to ignore the pang of sadness he felt over the thought of their immanent separation.

“Don’t worry, mom,” he said, “I’ll be okay. I mean, it’s just school. What could happen to me?”

For a moment, she wouldn’t let go of him, even when he subtly tried to pull out of her grasp. Then, once Hinata had begun to wonder if she was actually planning on keeping him prisoner for the rest of his life, she released him.

“You’re right, you’re right,” she breathed, wiping at her eyes. “You’ll be great, sweetheart. I know it. Here, how about I make us some breakfast?”

A couple of hours later, and Hinata was standing by the front door, a stuffed backpack weighing down his shoulders and two small suitcases resting on the floor by each of his hands. 

“I get Nii-chan’s room when he leaves, right?” His little sister Natsu said. She was sitting on the stairs, her legs drawn up to her chest as she watched him sift through his things to make sure he had everything that he needed.

Their mom gave Natsu a confused look. “But what’s wrong with your room, Natsu?”

“Nothing,” Natsu explained, “I’m keeping my room. I’m just going to have two rooms!”

“That seems very greedy,” Hinata said, fighting back a smile.

Natsu hugged her legs closer to her body. “It’s not greedy! I’m losing a brother, so I should get another room, it’s only fair!” She let her face rest on her knees, so that the rest of her speech came out muffled. “If I don’t get your room, then I’m losing a brother, and I don’t get anything for it. And that’s not fair.”

Hinata felt like his sister had just reached into his heart and pummeled it with her little fists. He was sitting at her side in a second, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close. 

“You still have a brother, Natsu,” he assured her as she sniffled into his shirt, “I’ll be back all the time for breaks and stuff!” When she continued to cry, Hinata sighed. “And, I guess you can sleep in my room sometimes. If you really want to.”

“Yay!”

Hinata rolled his eyes and gave Natsu one last squeeze before returning to his bags. The doorbell rang.

“That must be Yachi,” his mother said. Sure enough, when she opened the door, they were all greeted by Hinata’s oldest friend’s smiling face. She was laden with several bags, all slung over her back and shoulders, and was crouched over forward with the difficulty of her load.

“Good morning, Hinata-san,” Yachi greeted Shouyou’s mother, voice strained. 

Hinata smiled, a hint of mockery in the expression. “What’s in all of those bags, Hito-chan?” he snickered. 

Yachi scowled at him, looking like she wanted to respond, but was still putting all of her energy into holding onto her luggage. 

“Oh, why don’t you set those down for a moment, sweetie,” Hinata’s mom said sympathetically. She reached over and helped Yachi detach a couple of the bags from her shoulder, and they fell to the floor with a gentle thud. Hinata’s mom then shot a hard look in his direction, “And you are going to help her with her things, Shouyou.”

“Oh, n-no, it’s really fine!” Yachi stuttered, blushing, “It’s my own fault for packing so many things….”

“It’s okay!” Hinata picked up one of the bags that Yachi had dropped, swinging it over his shoulder. “I was gonna help her anyway,” he said to his mom, insulted that she would think any different. 

She smiled warmly at him, and suddenly he was being drawn into a tight hug. “I know, Shouyou,” she said, “You’re such a good boy.”

“Mooom,” he groaned, embarrassed, but didn’t try to pull away. When she finally released him, his mother beckoned to Yachi, who was watching them with a smile. 

“And you, too,” she said, giving Yachi a quick hug. “I can’t believe you two are going off on your own already! The time goes so fast….” She gave them both a long look, as if she could rewind and see them  
as children again if she tried hard enough. “You take care of each other, alright?”

“Of course,” Hinata said with a beaming smile.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble,” Yachi added with a smile. Hinata rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving one of his hands dismissively. “Can we go now? I don’t wanna be late!”

Hinata’s mom took a deep breath. “Yes, of course. I suppose I’ve stalled long enough, haven’t I?”

Hinata went over to the staircase, where Natsu was sitting and looking away from all of them resolutely, a firm pout etched onto her little face. He crouched down in front of her, moving his head to try and get her to meet his eyes.

“Hey, Natsu,” he whispered. She continued to look away from him. “I’m going to miss you a lot. Can I have one more hug before I go?”

For a moment, it seemed as if Natsu was going to ignore him. But her resolve soon broke, and she launched herself at Hinata, burying her face in his shoulder and hugging him tightly. Hinata laughed and ran his hand over her bright orange hair. When he pulled away, Natsu was hiding her eyes behind the crook of her arm.

Yachi followed his example, leaning down to give Natsu a hug and tell her goodbye. Yachi and Hinata’s families had been close for a long time; she was nearly as much of a sibling to Natsu as Shouyou was. 

Hinata’s mother drove them both to the train station. After one last, crushing hug for each of them, and the terrible sight of his mom dutifully holding back tears, the two were left alone.

As soon as his mother’s car disappeared out of sight, Hinata allowed his excitement to break free. He jumped into the air (maybe just a little bit higher than was technically ‘normal’) with his arms and legs sticking out into a star formation. 

“Aaah, can you believe it, Hito-chan?” he cheered, now bouncing up and down in front of his friend. “We’re finally going! Sora Academy, just like we always talked about! We’re going to be the greatest superheroes ever!”

Yachi giggled at Hinata’s antics, but leaned forward to shush him. “Quiet down! What if somebody hears you?”

Hinata stopped yelling, but his wide grin remained stretched across his face. He bent down to pick up the luggage he had left at his sides. “Heh, sorry. But I’m just so happy!”

“I know.” Yachi smiled. “But we have to get there first….”

“Oh, yeah!” Hinata said, remembering his special pamphlet. He reached into the front pocket of his pants and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper. On the front were two smiling kids, the picture  
distorted by wrinkles caused by how much Hinata had handled it. He flipped it over to reveal the directions on the back.

“It says we have to go to track…one hundred and one.”

Yachi frowned. “One hundred and one? This station doesn’t have anywhere near that many tracks….”

Hinata leaned in closer to her conspiratorially. “That’s because it’s a secret,” he whispered, “We only get to know because we’re special!”

Yachi smiled, beginning to become infected by Hinata’s enthusiasm. “Alright,” she said, “So what are we waiting for? Let’s go- hey! Shou-chan! Wait for me!”

________________________

“So…should we knock?”  


Hinata shrugged. They were standing outside of a shining steel door, with no handle, or anything else to indicate that it could be opened. It was located in a desolate, remote corner of the station that had taken the two of them ages to find, and that, with the exception of the brand-new looking door, seemed to be in terrible disrepair. The floor was covered in soot, and the faint sound of dripping water reached them from somewhere nearby.  


Above the door was a simple plaque reading **101**.  


After a brief moment of consideration, Hinata began banging on the door with his closed fist. “Hello!” he shouted, “Is anyone in there?”  


“Hinata-kun, stop it,” Yachi groaned, covering her face in embarrassment. When no one came to the door, Hinata groaned in frustration.  


“Let me in!” he shouted, continuing to bang on the door, “Let me in, let me in, let me in!”  


Yachi grabbed his arms and struggled to hold him back. “Shou-chan, stop! Look!” She pointed at a small pedestal a few steps to their left. The top was angled forward, displaying a screen that read ‘Please swipe your identification.’  


“It must mean the one we got in the mail,” Yachi said, reaching into her jacket pocket and fishing around. She soon produced a little blue card, and took a deep breath before swiping it through the machine. A moment passed, and soon Yachi’s face and name appeared on the screen. Then, with a soft ‘swoosh’, the metal door slid open.  


“Woooah!” Hinata gasped. Behind the door was a little room was what looked like a large glass elevator. He and Yachi shared a quick, nervous look, and stepped inside.  


“Gwah!” Hinata shouted as he found himself and all of his things being violently thrown onto the hard floor. He looked up from the ground, dazed, to see that Yachi was holding her hand over her mouth, stifling giggles.  


“There’s a force-field,” she snickered, “You have to swipe your card!”  


Hinata shook his head a bit, clearing it. “A force field? Woah, that’s so cool!”  


Yachi shook her head. “Just hurry up!”  


Hinata stood up, scurrying over to the pedestal. When he swiped his card, his face and name appeared on the screen, and he cooed in excitement.  


“Oooh, that’s me!”  


Yachi rolled her eyes. “Just get in here already!”  


“Right!” Hinata ran to join his friend in the elevator. The entire thing was made of glass, even the floor, revealing the dark gray of the elevator shaft around them. It glowed with a bright, iridescent light that seemed to be coming from the walls themselves. On the side of the elevator nearest to Yachi was a small keypad with only one button: an arrow pointing up.  


“I guess we’re going up,” Yachi said. She looked over at Hinata with a bit of panic in her eyes. When he gave her a reassuring smile, she took a deep breath, and pressed the button. For a moment, nothing happened.  


And then, they were flying.  


And screaming. They were also both screaming.  


“Shouyou!” Yachi shrieked, reaching to hold onto her friend. They were going up the shaft at such a speed that they were both stuck to the floor of the elevator, the pressure forcing them to the ground. Hinata felt like his stomach had probably fallen through the floor and was plummeting towards Earth, however far away that must be now, and he fought the bile that tried to come up and into his throat.  


For several heart-pounding seconds that felt like years, he and Yachi simply held each other and screamed, Hinata’s mind repeating a mantra of _I’m too young to die I’m too young to die I’m too young to die-_  


Then, everything slowed down. Hinata cracked open one of his eyes, his arms still wrapped around Yachi, to see that they were bathed in natural sunlight. All around him were white, fluffy clouds, and blue sky.  


“Hito-chan!” Hinata said, shaking Yachi’s shoulder in an attempt to coax her out of the fetal position. “Look! It’s amazing!”  


Yachi slowly opened her eyes, taking in their positions. “Oh my god,” she said as she looked down through the floor, “Oh god, oh god, oh-“  


“Haha!” Hinata laughed, looking down on the world beneath him. “We’re flying! Isn’t this incredible?”  


“Yeah,” said Yachi weakly, crawling back into her previous position on the floor, “It’s…great….”  


Hinata was standing now, face pressed against one of the glass walls, taking in everything. _One day, he thought, I’m going to be able to fly this high on my own._  


But he didn’t get to enjoy the view for long, because they soon began slowing to a stop, a huge, floating metal structure getting closer and closer as they ascended. Soon, they were sliding into another gray shaft, the elevator gliding gracefully to a halt. Before the door slid open, Hinata reached for Yachi’s arm and pulled her into a standing position, holding onto her arm when she swayed a little. The door opened, revealing a small train platform with a few benches, a vending machine, and a screen listing departure times. The whole platform was encased in what looked like glass, and connected to a great tube with train tracks on the bottom, stretching out into the unknown. Around them, a few people were milling about, ranging from teenagers Hinata and Yachi’s age to older adults.  


“Wow!” Hinata exclaimed, running out onto the platform. He looked at the screen. “It says there’s a train coming in three minutes.”  


Yachi dragged herself and her bags over to a bench, collapsing onto it. Hinata soon took a seat next to her.  


“Do you want something from the vending machine?” Hinata asked her.  


Yachi shook her head. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was shut into a tight line. She was shaking slightly.  


Hinata looked at her with concern. “Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong?”  


Yachi just shook her head again.  


“…Are you nervous?” Hinata asked.  


Yachi opened her eyes, giving Hinata a desperate expression. “Aren’t you?”  


Hinata thought about it.; He supposed he did feel a little queasy, and his hands had been sweating since the moment his mom had dropped them off at the station. But all of that was completely overrun by how long he had waited for this day to come.  


“I guess, a little,” he admitted.  


Yachi bit her lip. “I’m just worried...about my power.”  


Hinata cocked his head to the side. “Your power? Why?”  


“I’m just worried that people will make fun of it.”  


“Why would they? Your power is awesome!”  


A light blush colored Yachi’s cheeks.  


“Besides,” Hinata continued, a slight frown developing on his face, “At least you know how to use your power.”  


“You’ll learn, Shou-chan,” Yachi assured him, “I mean, isn’t that why we’re going to Sora? To learn?”  


Hinata beamed, like Yachi had turned on light switch in his mind. “Yeah!”  


Before they could say anything more to each other, the train was arriving, sliding almost noiselessly into the platform and breezing by for a while before slowing to a stop. After sharing a quick look, Hinata and Yachi gathered their things and stepped onto the train.

______

On the inside, the train looked pretty much like any ordinary train would, but it proved itself to go at least three times as fast. It wasn’t long before Sora Academy was coming into view through the clouds, and Hinata began to hit Yachi with a barrage of tiny slaps.  


“Ow, ow! Stop that, I see it!”  


They both pressed their faces against the window, taking in as much of the school as they could before they got there.  


“Wooooah,” they gasped in unison. The structure was enormous; it consisted of several floating platforms dotted with buildings, all set on different levels, and surrounding one building that was larger than all of the rest, with a domed ceiling and great glass windows. Sprouting from the main cluster of platforms, an enclosed glass bridge led to what looked like a small town, the second circular platform dotted with little buildings and lined with streets. Another bridge led to a smaller platform, which seemed to house a huge outdoor training area.  


“I can’t believe it,” Yachi breathed, “How can they possibly keep all of this in the air?”  


Hinata just shrugged, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him. He found himself beginning to tear up, overcome with emotion, and quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.  


They didn’t have long to sit and gape, though, because soon enough the train was beginning to slow down, bringing them gently into the small train dock that rested outside of one of the outer floating platforms.  


When the doors of the train slid open, Hinata and Yachi both bounded outside, desperate to see everything close up. The room they stepped put into led them to another set of automated metal doors that soon slid open, revealing Sora Academy to them for the first time.  


“Wow,” Hinata breathed, suddenly subdued.  


They were on one of the smaller outer platforms. Stretching in front of them was an area covered in white concrete walkways, and speckled with areas of bright green grass and brilliantly blossoming cherry trees. In the center of the area was a large, impressive fountain, and further back was an arrangement of different buildings. Above them, on the central, elevated platform, the huge, domed building Hinata had seen from the train loomed above them, gorgeous and impressive.  


He and Yachi shared a brief look, before breaking out into mutual excited jumping and yelling.  


They were so preoccupied with their celebrating that they didn’t notice a person coming towards them until they heard a voice.  


“Hello!” the person greeted pleasantly, and Hinata and Yachi stopped jumping, embarrassed. The boy speaking to them seemed older, probably in his third and final year at the school (Hinata knew that at Sora, your fourth and final year was spend in field training, actually out in the world and fighting bad guys). He had gray hair, a little beauty mark on his cheek, and a clipboard tucked under his arm. The corners of his eyes were crinkling with quiet laughter at their display.  


“My name’s Sugawara Koushi,” the boy said, “Welcome to Sora! If you would just step over here, we can help you.”  


“It’s nice to meet you, Sugawara-senpai!” Hinata and Yachi said, both bowing slightly. Sugawara laughed, waving them over to where a table was set up a few steps ahead of them.  


“It’s very nice to meet you too!” he said genuinely. Hinata wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, but just being around Sugawara seemed to make him feel more comfortable and happy. Maybe it was the warm way he welcomed them, but any nervousness Hinata had felt was disappearing in his presence. It was a little strange, but definitely not unpleasant.  


When they reached the table, they saw another boy was sitting there, one with a strong build and dark hair and eyes. He was scowling down at a mess of papers laid out in front of him, but he smiled up at Yachi and Hinata when they approached.  


“Hello,” he said, “I’m Daichi Sawamura. Can you both give me your names please?”  


“I-I’m Yachi Hitoka,” Yachi said, fidgeting with the sleeves of her jacket. Daichi scanned one of the papers in front of him, before nodding and making a mark with a pencil. “Welcome to Sora, Yachi-san.”  


“Thank you!” Yachi bowed quickly, and stepped out of the way for Hinata.  


“My name is Hinata Shouyou,” he said, voice coming out a little more timid than he had planned. For an instant, he saw Daichi’s eyes widen just the slightest bit.  


“Oh, Hinata!” Sugawara said next to him, smiling widely and giving him a brisk pat on the back, “We should have known it was you! Because of the hair.”  


Hinata felt his ears turn red, and he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. All of his life, he had lived with no one but Yachi and her family knowing who his parents were. There were times when he would have given anything for it not to be a secret- but now that he was at the place where his parents had studied, where everyone would know him, he felt an odd weight start to settle in his chest. He suddenly worried that he wouldn’t be what everyone was expecting.  


“Well, welcome to Sora Academy, Hinata-san,” Daichi said with a grin, making another mark on his paper, “It’s good to have you.” Hinata thanked him.  


“You can put your bags here,” Sugawara told them, gesturing towards a big plastic bin. “Someone will be over to make sure it gets flown to the right dorm room before you get there.” As Yachi and Hinata gratefully relieved themselves of their luggage, Sugawara called to someone.  


“Kageyama-san!”  


Hinata looked up in the direction that Suga was calling, for the first time seeing a boy who was several yards away from them, sitting on the edge of the giant fountain. Hinata could see that he had jet-black hair, and that he was watching them with a glowering expression. Despite the look on his face, Sugawara continued to smile and wave him over insistently until he stood.  


“These are some of your new classmates,” Sugawara said to the mean-looking boy, gesturing to Yachi and Hinata. “This is Yachi Hitoka, and this is Hinata Shouyou. His parents-”  


“I know who his parents were.”  


Hinata looked up in surprise at the hostility in the boy’s voice. He felt anger start to manifest inside of him, and he felt himself open his mouth to respond, although his brain didn’t yet know what he was planning on saying. Thankfully, before he could get that far, Sugawara stepped in.  


“Kageyama…” he said, still smiling, but with something like a threat underlying his tone.  


Kageyama seemed to calm down, if only slightly, some of the hardness in his black eyes fading into indifference. He looked away from them, frowning.  


“It shouldn’t matter who his parents were, should it? He’s just like the rest of us.” he said. Sugawara looked like he was about to say something, but he was interrupted by a chuckle from the table.  


“He’s right,” Daichi said, smiling at Hinata, “Here, it doesn’t matter how powerful your parents are. It’s all about working on your own abilities. Got that?”  
Hinata nodded vigorously. “Of course!” he shouted, “I’m ready to work hard!”  


Daichi grinned. “Good.”  


Things calmed down after that, with the surly Kageyama settling for standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets, that awful scowl still distorting his features. But Hinata couldn’t help but bristle with residual anger. What was this guy’s problem? Hinata was insulted by the implication that he would try to ride his parents’ coattails.  


Sugawara checked his clipboard. “We only have to wait for two more first years. Then we can start showing you guys around!”  


Hinata frowned, looking around as if more underclassmen might be hiding behind the trees. But all he could see was himself, Yachi, and Mean Asshole Kageyama.  


“Only two more?” he asked, “That’s it?”  


Suga nodded. “The school’s broken up into districts based on what area of Japan you’re from.” He ginned a little mischievously, “It’s easier to manage a bunch of superhuman college students that way. Our section is called the Orange District. It’s not like we usually have that many in a class…although, I think this is one of the smallest we’ve had in a while.”  


Hinata couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. He had always imagined the Academy as being filled with hundreds of students, that he would be surrounded by so many kids like him. At least, that’s sort of how his parents had always made it sound.  


“Oi, Hinata,” Daichi said, snapping him out of his daydreaming, “It isn’t like people with superpowers grow on trees. All of us are special and important- that’s why we get all of this.”  
Hinata nodded, understanding. The thought that he was rare and special certainly improved his mood.  


Sugawara nodded. “He’s right. And besides, there are plenty of times you’ll get to meet the students from other districts once school starts. You’ll share some classes, games, competitions…oh, good. It looks like the last two are here.”  


Everyone turned back to the dock where Hinata and Yachi had just come from, seeing that another train had arrived, the metal doors sliding open to reveal two boys. One had freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose, and the other was tall and bespectacled.  


“Hello, welcome to Sora!” Sugawara said, quickly walking towards the boys. “We can help you right over here.”  


The boys stepped up to the table where Daishi was sitting, and he asked for their names the same way he had with Yachi and Hinata.  


“Yamaguchi Tadashi,” the boy with the freckles said, looking down at his feet.  


Daichi nodded. He went to make a mark on his list, but when he pressed the pencil to the paper, it snapped in half- no, not in half, it shattered, shards of wood shooting off in every direction and littering the table.  


“Dammit! Again?” he groaned. “Why don’t they make these things stronger?”  


Sugawara was stifling a laugh behind one of his hands. “You have to be more gentle, Daichi,” he said, before reaching into his jacket and producing a pen. Hinata caught a glimpse of the inside, noting that there were several more writing utensils in Suga’s pocket. He fought the urge to laugh a little himself.  


“I am gentle,” Daichi muttered, taking the pen from Suga. He looked back up to the new first years. “Sorry about that. Anyway, what’s your name?”  


“Tsukishima Kei,” the tall one said, stepping in front of the other boy. Hinata frowned; he didn’t like the way he was looking around the school with a bored expression, as if none of this impressed him in the slightest. Who wouldn’t be impressed by all of this? Hinata’s head was still spinning, just trying to take it all in.  


“Great!” Daichi exclaimed. He gathered his papers, shoved them into a binder, and stood. “Now we can start the tour.”  


Hinata leaped into the air. “Yay! Tour!” Yachi smiled at him, looking excited as well. But the tall boy, Tsukishima, clicked his tongue, regarding Hinata with a look of distain. Hinata stilled, narrowing his eyes. What was this guy’s problem with him? Did he wanna fight?  
>

“It’ll have to be quick,” Sugawara said, looking at his watch, “We’re running a little late.”  


Dachi nodded, heading back in the direction of the fountain. He waved for the group to follow him.  


“So, as you all probably saw coming in, Sora is made up of several platforms,” Daichi explained, “The school itself is on the main platform, surrounded by the facilities for each district. This is our platform.” He walked them around, gesturing to the various buildings as he walked by, “Those two buildings are housing, where you’ll all be living. Over there is the dining hall, and that one next to it is a gym, for personal training. And right over here is a small park, with some grass and a few benches, that kind of thing.”  


“It’s a nice place to study,” Sugawara added.  


Hinata was pretty sure his eyes were the size of planets, but he couldn’t care. Everything was so incredible, from the fully stocked gym to the lush green park- he couldn’t believe that it was all there for him to use.  


“Do you see that bridge?” Daichi asked, pointing in the direction of the big glass bridge that Hinata had noticed earlier, the one that jutted from the side of the main platform. He and all of the first years nodded their heads.  


“That leads to the town,” Daichi said. “A lot of staff members live there, but so do some other people- retired superheroes, mostly. It’s small, but there are some shops, cafés, restaurants…bars….”  


“Daichi,” Suga groaned, “It’s the first day, and they’re all underage. Don’t go giving them a list of all the bars they can go to….”  


Daichi held his hands up innocently. “I wasn’t going to! I’m just giving them a tour of everything!”  


Hinata, Yachi, and Yamaguchi all laughed.  


Daichi grinned. “Alright, alright. Anyway, Sugawara-san and I are your student leaders, so you can come to us with any problems, questions, anything.”  


Suga nodded. “Each district has two student leaders, and two head teachers as well. So you’ll always have somebody to help you!”  


Hinata tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Why are there two of everything?” he wondered. He had noticed that there were two dorm buildings, as well.  


Everyone looked at Hinata, then, as if surprised by the question. Next to him, Tsukishima covered a mean snicker behind his hand. Hinata felt his face warm.  


Before anyone could answer his question, a loud voice made everyone’s head turn.  


“Hey, first years! How fun!” The voice was coming from a boy with a shaved head. Another boy was walking beside him, grinning. His hair stuck up high on his head, and he was even shorter than Hinata.  


Sugawara rolled his eyes, although he was smiling. “Shut up, Tanaka. It wasn’t so long ago that you were a first year.”  


Tanaka laughed loudly, throwing his head back. “That’s why we have to mess with them! Right, Nishinoya-kun?”  


The shorter boy, Nishinoya, nodded, puffing out his chest importantly. “Absolutely. It is our solemn duty as second years.” Then he broke his pose, laughing. “It’s nice to see you, Suga-san, Dachi- san!”  


Suga and Daichi both smiled. “It’s good to see you too,” Daichi said, “When did you two get here?”  


“Not long ago. We-” Suddenly, Nishinoya’s eyes found Hinata, and he grinned. “Hey, this has gotta be the little Hinata! Am I right?”  


Hinata nodded timidly. Daichi sighed.  


“Yes, but we’re trying to-”  


“Wooah!” Tanaka said, leaning in to get a better look at Hinata. “So cool! You know, your dad, he was a big inspiration to me growing up.”  


Nishinoya nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! ‘The Raven’; so awesome! I had a poster of him in my room. I remember that neat cape he used to wear, with all those black feathers-”  


Suddenly, Hinata stopped hearing whatever the second year was saying to him. An image flashed through his mind: an image of that same, feathered cape. But it wasn’t the image that Nishinoya was thinking of. Hinata felt a rush of pain tear through him, strong and sudden enough to leave him breathless.  


“That’s enough!” Sugawara suddenly said, his voice more serious than Hinata had yet heard it. It was enough to pull him out of his daze, and he hurriedly wiped at his eyes, mortified to find that he had started to tear up. He felt a warmth on his arm, and looked over to see that Yachi was holding onto him, concern evident in her brown eyes.  


Tanaka and Nishinoya were had gone silent. They both looked thoroughly chastened.  


“Shit. Sorry,” Tanaka said.  


“Yeah,” Nishinoya agreed, “We should’ve thought first. Sorry, Hinata.”  


Sugawara was giving Hinata a measured look, seeming to ask him if he was okay without words. Hinata became horribly aware that everyone was staring at him- even Mean Asshole Kageyama, who was fixing him with such an intense glare that he worried it might actually kill him. He laughed nervously.  


“No, it’s fine! I’m fine! Don’t worry about it. I was just surprised, that’s all!” He said, waving his arms around frantically.  


Nishinoya and Tanaka shared a look. “Alright, good,” Nishinoya said, “Well, we should probably get going. Good luck at placement, everyone!”  


They both left, and Daichi cursed. “Damn, we’re so late now. Come one, everyone! We’re heading towards the school.”  


They followed Daichi at a swift pace. Hinata looked around himself, wondering if anyone else was sharing his confusion.  


_Placement?_ He thought. _What’s that?_  


________

  


“So these are our first years.”  


Hinata shifted under the man’s gaze. After the tour, Daichi and Suga had led them up a long staircase, to the central platform housing the school itself. They had brought them to a huge gymnasium, before wishing them all good luck and apologizing that they couldn’t stay for this. And then they had left. That gymnasium was where Hinata and the other first years now sat, nervous and fidgeting on the hard, polished floor. A bit off to the side was a raised platform, like a small stage. Hinata thought it looked more ominous than a block of wood had any right to.  


The man speaking to them was standing in front of them, pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes surveyed the students, seeming to assess them, and Hinata thought he could feel his new classmates holding their breaths.  


After several agonizing moments, the man broke out into a sly grin. “Well, welcome to Sora!” he announced. “My name is Coach Ukai. I’m the gym teacher here, and I’m also head teacher for Heroes in the Orange District. So I’m sure we’re all going to get to know each other very well.”  


There was a collective greeting from the first years. After a gesture from Coach Ukai, another man, who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor with a clipboard, stood.  


“I’m Takeda,” the man announced, “I’m a professor here at Sora, and the head teacher for Hero Support in your district. I’m very excited to meet all of you!”  


“It’s nice to meet you, Takeda-sensei!” they chanted. But Hinata was still lost. What did hero support mean? A quick, shared look with Yachi confirmed that she didn’t know what was going on either.  


Ukai stopped his slow pacing, and faced them all with a level expression. “Right now, as you probably know, our job is to decide which of you will be on the Hero track, and which of you will be on the Hero Support-or sidekick, as you like to call it- track. I know you’re probably nervous. But I want you to give us your best.”  


Takeda smiled encouragingly at them. “Don’t worry,” he said, “There’s no right or wrong. We just need to know what your abilities are best suited for.”  


Ukai nodded. “And no whining,” he added. “Now, we only have this space until the next group comes, and we’re running late, so let’s get this started. You,” he pointed at Tsukishima, who was sitting the farthest to the left, “You go first. Get up on the platform. And try not to look too excited about it.”  


Tsuki was wearing his usual bored expression as he stepped up onto the platform. Hinata, on the other hand, was worrying that his heart was beating so loudly that the other’s would be able to hear it- actually, he was beginning to fear that he would have a heart attack, right there in the gymnasium. He knew that cold sweat was gathering on his face, could feel it pooling in his clenched fists.  


After all this time. After waiting for his entire life for the opportunity to train, to develop his powers and become a hero, all of that could potentially be about to be taken from him. When he’d woken up this morning, he’d had no idea that he would face such a decisive test. Why hadn’t his mother warned him?  


Not that it mattered now. Now, Hinata could only see one option left to him.  


He was going to have to fly for them.  


“Name?” Coach Ukai asked once Tsukishima was standing on the stage. Hinata snapped out of his thoughts, desperate to see what was in store for him.  


“Tsukishima Kei,” he drawled. Both teaches made marks on their clipboards.  


“Power?”  


“Force Fields.”  


Ukai nodded. “Can you make one now?”  


Tsukishima didn’t say anything in response. He simply waved a hand over his head, pivoting, and an iridescent sheen appeared around him, shimmering bluish green like a soap bubble. The entire thing seemed to hum with electrical energy. Hinata felt the hair on his body stand up a little.  


“Oooh,” Yachi gasped next to Hinata. Hinata crossed his arms of his chest, scowling.  


“Good.” Ukai made a few notes. “Now I’m going to see how strong it is. Are you ready?”  


“Yes.”  


Coach Ukai walked over to the nearest wall, to what looked like a control panel covered in buttons of different color and size. He pressed a finger onto one of the buttons, and a hatch opened up in the ceiling. The first years sitting on the floor gasped in various degrees of shock as several heavy-looking metal spheres tumbled down from the hatch and fell directly onto Tsukishima. But the force field held, leaving Tsuki standing unharmed, and unfazed, in his shimmering protective bubble. A few of the balls rolled off and headed towards the other first years, one of them heading directly for the freckled boy- Yamaguchi.  


They all screamed. For a second, Hinata saw a flash of panic cross Tsukishima’s normally passive face, and he stuck out an open hand, causing a force field to appear around Yamaguchi, protecting him.  


Unfortunately, this meant that his own force field disappeared, leaving Tsukishima completely vulnerable to the metal weights that were still raining down on him. Yachi covered her eyes with her hands. Hinata did the same, but couldn’t resist peeking through the gaps between his fingers.  


Tsukishima braced himself for impact, but before the balls could hit him, they burst apart, disintegrating into what looked like dust, or ash. Tsukishima stood, body still tense with fear, while the substance rained peacefully down on him. Everyone looked to Ukai, who was standing with a hand outstretched.  


“Well,” he said, brushing his hands together, and seemingly indifferent to the students’ lingering distress, “I think I’ve seen enough. You can come down now.”  


Tsuki stepped down, his face having fallen back into its usual distasteful frown. But Hinata could see that his legs were trembling slightly.  


Ukai beckoned over to Takeda, who grabbed a cloth bag and held it open for him. The coach fished around in the bag for a moment before producing a polished metal badge.  


“Here,” he said as he handed the badge to Tsukishima, “When everyone has gone, you’ll go with Daichi. Now go take a seat.”  


Tsukishima walked passed Hinata on his way to his seat, and Hinata would have sworn that he tilted the glimmering black badge in his hands on purpose, facing it so that Hinata could read the word “Hero” etched into the metal in orange lettering.  


Tsukishima returned to his spot next to Yamaguchi, whose eyes were still peeled wide in shock after nearly taking a weighted metal sphere to the face.  


“T-thanks, Tsuki!” he finally managed to say. Tsukishima grunted, but otherwise said nothing.  


It was Yamaguchi who went next. When he took the stage, he declared that his power was enhanced marksmanship.  


“…Sometimes,” he added, out of the corner of his mouth, but neither Ukai nor Takeda appeared to hear it. Soon a bow and arrow were placed in Yamaguchi’s trembling hands.  


Ukai pressed another of the buttons on the wall. This time, several targets descended from the ceiling, all of various sizes, and all shifting at different speeds and in different directions. Yamaguchi drew his bow, squinting in concentration.  


He released the arrow, and it dropped, clattering to the ground. After a few more tries, all yielding a similar result, he was told to step down. Hinata could see a bright orange badge with black letters be pressed into Yamaguchi’s palm, and he was instructed to go with Sugawara after the placement was over. When Yamaguchi returned to his seat, it was with a slight slump in his shoulders.  


Hinata sighed. He felt guilty for feeling relieved that not all of his classmates were as gifted as Tsukishima and his powerful force fields.  


The next one in line was Yachi, and she gave Hinata a look of pure panic when she was called to the stage. Hinata gave her a brisk pat on the shoulder.  


“Good luck!” he whispered.  


She nodded, and made her cautious way to the stage.  


“Name?” Ukai asked.  


Yachi’s face was bright red, but her voice was steady. “Yachi Hitoka.”  


“Power?”  


“Well…I, uh….”  


Ukai raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”  


Yachi stared resolutely at her feet. “I’m a shape-shifter, sir.”  


Ukai looked up from his clipboard with some interest. “A shape-shifter, huh? What can you change into?”  


“Um…small animals. L-like, rabbits, and, um…hamsters….”  


“…Alright. Can you do it now?”  


When the light subsided, the recognizable image of Yachi was gone. In its place was a small, yellow bird, flapping its tiny wings in the space where Yachi had just been standing.  


“Aaw,” Tsukishima said with a snicker, “How cute.”  


Hinata felt anger rise up in his throat like bile. “Hey-” he started, but he was cut off by coach Ukai.  


“Enough!” he snapped at Tsukishima. He then jumped a little in surprise- the little bird that was Yachi had flown over to perch herself on the edge of his clipboard. “Uh…you can change back now, Yachi-san.”

The bird flew off of the clipboard, and a few seconds later, Yachi was back to her human form. If it was possible, she was even redder than she had been before her transformation.  


“I’m sorry, Coach Ukai!” she said, “I just wasn’t sure if you could see me well!”  


Ukai looked like he might have been fighting a smile. “It’s fine. You can come get your badge now.”  


She nodded, rushing over to Takeda to receive her orange badge. When she sat back down next to Hinata, he was worried that she would be upset about her placement and Tsukishima’s bullying. Instead, she smiled at him.  


“I’m glad it’s over,” she breathed. “I think it’s your turn now, Hinata-kun! Good luck!”  


She was right. He was the next in line, and Coach Ukai was waving him over casually, like he wasn’t about to decide Hinata’s entire future.  


_No_ , Hinata thought, _I’m the one who decides my future. I can do this, I can do this….even though I’ve never actually flown before…I’m sure I can do this…._  


“Are you feeling alright?” a concerned voice said beside him. He realized that he had stood up, but hadn’t made any move to walk towards the platform. Takeda-sensei was at his side, watching him with a concerned expression. “You look a little pale. Can I get you some water?”  


Hinata shook his head. He tried to fight the nausea that was slowly starting to overtake his body- he’d always had a tendency to vomit when nervous, and he could think of no worse way to start his college experience than getting sick on a stage in front of his entire class. Even if his entire class consisted of only four other students, three if he didn’t count Yachi, who had seen him throw up plenty of times.  


The walk to the platform felt like a dream to Hinata, the time it took skewed so that it felt like both an eternity and a second all at once. He tried to focus on putting one leg in front of the other.  


“Name?” Coach Ukai asked, just has he had all the others.  


"Hinata Shouyou.” Hinata’s voice sounded like it belonged to another person, like he was a puppet being manipulated by a faraway being. Shit. He hated his nerves.  


If the coach recognized the name, he made no indication. Hinata wasn’t sure if he was grateful or not. “And your power?” Ukai continued.  


“Flight.” There is was. The word that would condemn him. Flight? Is that really what they called what Shouyou could do?  


It was hard for Hinata to register anything other than the beating in his own heart, but he thought that Ukai may have been smiling. “Well, I guess we don’t need any fancy props to help prove that. When you’re ready, Hinata.”  


The word ‘ready’ almost made Hinata laugh. Before doing anything, he looked down at the rest of the first-years, hoping for a reassuring smile from Yachi to encourage him.  


And she may have given him that smile, but Hinata didn’t see it, because he was suddenly trapped by another person’s gaze: it was none other than Mean Asshole Kageyama, who had been sitting slightly behind the rest of the group for most of the placement, completely silent. Now he was staring at Hinata with such frightening intensity that Hinata started to worry the other boy could actually kill him with his eyes, and that he was currently trying to, for whatever reason. Hinata swallowed. He closed his eyes. _Focus._  


He trained his thoughts on the air around him. It was stuffy in the gym, but there was enough ventilation that currents still shifted, still moved and danced with and ran into one another. Hinata could feel it, could almost see it in him mind. Shutting everything else out, he coaxed the air towards himself, approaching it like someone would approach a frightened animal.  


He exhaled when that familiar, exhilarating sense of weightlessness hit him. He felt the air, both in him and around him, and soon he was feeling his feet part with the wood below them. He didn’t open his eyes, but he knew that he was hovering a few feet off the ground. He had the lift- now all he had to do was move himself forward.  


Hinata thought back to his father. He thought about what his dad had always told him, that flight was like having a conversation with the air. Taking a deep breath, he reached out to the air around him, and tried to speak to it. It greeted him, and he felt his body shift forward a little, a rush of elation filling him. This was the farthest he had ever gotten before. He was going to do it. He was going to fly.  


Then, like a bolt of lightning, Hinata’s thoughts were filled with the same image that had come for him when the second years had been talking to him. There was a black cape, a wave of nausea, and a sudden burst of pain.  


Hinata opened his eyes to see that he was on the hard floor of the gym, his limbs sprawled and tangled and his body aching. He had fallen. Just like he always did.  


“Are you alright?” Both Takeda and Ukai were kneeling beside him, looking concerned. Hinata sat up. Yachi was standing behind the teachers, trying to get a good look at him.  


“I’m fine,” Hinata said. Takeda continued to inspect him for injuries. “Really, I’m okay! I’m ready to try again.”  


The two teachers shared a look. “Don’t worry about that, Hinata-kun,” Takeda said, “You did enough.”  


Enough? Hinata wondered if that meant what he thought, a spark of hope returning to him. He allowed the teachers to help him to his feet, and Takeda went to get the bag of badges, pulling one out. The badge was bright orange. Hinata’s heart plummeted.  


“No!” he found himself saying, causing Takeda to look up in surprise. “I…I can do it! I swear! I just need to learn.”  


Ukai sighed. “It’s nearly unheard of for a person’s powers to develop any further once they reach the age of eighteen. I’m sorry, but I can’t put you in a class that you aren’t suited for.”  
Hinata clenched his fists in frustration. “But I can do it! I’m meant to be a hero! I have to be!”  


“Enough!” Ukai yelled, and Hinata flinched. “I said at the beginning that I wouldn’t tolerate any complaining. It’s an insult to you peers in the hero-support class. Now take your badge and take a seat.”  


Hinata felt like the world was ending. There was nothing he could do other than accept his badge from Takeda, and return to his place on the floor. Upon seeing the faces of the rest of his classmates,  


Hinata suddenly felt more embarrassed than he had ever been. He wanted to go find a cave in the woods and live there forever.  


Yachi was by his side in an instant, telling him that everything was okay. “At least we’ll be in the same classes now!” she said.  


Hinata looked away from her.  


He didn’t hear Ukai call for the next person, but he saw Kageyama emerge from his lonely spot in the back and make his way onto the stage.  


“Name?” Ukai said, settling back into the routine.  


Kageyama stared directly in front of him. “Kageyama Tobio.”  


“And your power?”  


His eyes flickered to Ukai, and then returned to whatever spot on the wall he was examining.  


“Telekinesis.”  


Ukai sighed tiredly. He walked over to the control panel once again, and pressed a button. This time, a large, grey box fell from the ceiling, but it didn’t land on Kageyama. Instead, it landed on the space in front of him.  


“When you’re ready,” Ukai said.  


Hinata wasn’t really paying attention to Mean Asshole Kageyama’s placement; he was staring into his lap, far too deep in his own pit of despair to care what was happening. But immediately after the go-ahead had left Ukai’s mouth, there was a collective intake of breath from the other students. Yachi shook Hinata’s shoulder, and Hinata looked up.  


“What is it?”  


Yachi shook her head in bewilderment. “The box…look, it’s on the other side of the gym! I swear, I didn’t even see it move!”  


Sure enough, the box that had been place in front of Kageyama was now at the far end of the gym. But Hinata hadn’t been paying attention, so he didn’t really know what was so special about that.  


Ukai, meanwhile, seemed to know. His eyes were slightly widened, a hand brought up to his chin in thought. “Can you do another one?”  


Kageyama nodded, and Ukai pressed another button. This time, a much smaller object, a ball, fell in front of Kageyama’s feet. On the far end of the gymnasium, a little basket descended.  


Ukai watched Kageyama with intent. “Try to put the ball into the basket.”  


For a moment, Hinata thought that Kageyama hadn’t done anything. Then he noticed that there was no longer a ball in front of Kageyama, and he whipped his head around despite himself. There was no way….  


And yet, there it was. It was almost too far away to see, but the little ball was definitely in the little basket on the opposite end of the court. It had happened in less than a second. Kageyama hadn’t even moved.  


Hinata shook his head around; he felt like his brain had glitched. But he knew that Kageyama had moved the ball with his mind.  


“Amazing,” he found himself whispering. But he heard Tsukishima scoff.  


“Freak.” he spat.  


The word was said with malice, and just loud enough that Hinata knew Kageyama would hear it. He saw, so quick that he might have imagined it, but knew that he didn’t, a violent twitch flick across Kageyama’s face. The expression of pain was gone as soon as it had come, but Hinata had seen it. He couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Kageyama, even if he was a mean asshole.  


Unfortunately, Ukai and Takeda were deep in conversation, and didn’t hear Tsukishima’s insult. When the broke apart, Ukai instructed Kageyama to step down. He was presented with a black badge with orange letters, and told to go with Daichi.  


“Alright, the hard part of today is done!” Takeda said to all of them with a warm smile, “You can all relax now. Your student leaders should be waiting for you outside of the gym, and they’ll show you to your dorms and make sure you all get your schedules. Classes start tomorrow, so get a good night’s sleep. It was great meeting all of you, and I’m sure we’re going to have a great year together.”  


They all said their thank yous and goodbyes, and headed out to the gym exit. On the way, Hinata found himself drifting towards Kageyama who, despite being placed on the Hero track, had a look in his eyes like he was ready to burn the whole school down.  


“Hey,” Hinata said, “Tsukishima-san is just jealous, you know.” Tsuki heard him and shot him a look, but Hinata didn’t really care.  


He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t for Kageyama’s expression to become even sourer. He looked down at Hinata.  


“You think I need pity from someone like you?” he snapped. “You can’t even do anything, the only reason you’re here is because of your parents. You’re just wasting everyone’s time.”  


Hinata gaped. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw that it was Yachi trying to pull him away from Kageyama. Hinata resisted.  


“Well at least I’m not a big asshole!” he yelled. Kageyama’s eyes narrowed, and Yachi pulled harder on Hinata’s arm. He complied, allowing her to guide him out of the door, mumbling about how he wasn’t worth it under her breath. She was probably right, but Hinata wanted nothing more than to go back and give Kageyama a piece of his mind.  


When they got out into the hallway, Daichi and Sugawara were both waiting for them, leaning against a wall and chatting with each other.  


“Oh, welcome back!” Suga said when he saw them, “How did it go?”  


None of them said anything, but their feelings must have shown on all of their faces, because Daichi and Suga both laughed.  


“I know, it’s rough,” Daichi said sympathetically. “I remember when we had to do it. But it’s over now, so you can all go collapse on your beds.”  


Suga nodded. “It’s been a long day for all of us. So, if you got a Hero badge, go with Daichi, and if you got a Hero Support badge, come with me.”  


They all shuffled to their respective advisors. If Sugawara was surprised to see Hinata standing with him, he didn’t show it. “Alright!” Suga said, “How about we go get some dinner first. I’m starving.”  


“Me too,” said Yamaguchi.  


Yachi groaned. “So am I.”  


Hinata said nothing.

_________

Sugawara took the three of them to the cafeteria, explaining how their meal plans would work, telling them which foods were the best, and which stay away from. He talked about how none of them had much to worry about when it came to things like food, because the government was interested in keeping all of them healthy and training.  


The food wasn’t bad, but Hinata hadn’t gotten over his nausea from placement, and could only pick at what he had taken. While Yachi and Yamaguchi asked Sugawara questions and gratefully ate their dinners, Hinata let himself tune out, his head resting on his hand. He kept hearing Kageyama’s words in his mind.  


_You’re only here because of your parents. You can’t even do anything._  


Maybe he had been right. If there really was no hope that Hinata’s powers would develop, then what reason did he have to stay here? He would be of more use going to regular school and getting a regular job, just like his mother wanted him to.  


And yet, there was something inside of him that knew he couldn’t let go of his dream. Not yet. But he didn’t see how it was possible, now.  


After they had eaten, Suga led them to their dorms. Really, the structure was less like a dorm building and more like a house, with only one level and hallways with bedrooms branching off from a central area that consisted of a kitchen and a lounging area.  


“Another perk about being at a superhero university,” Sugawara said, “Everyone gets their own room.”  


When Hinata got into his own small room, he saw that his things had made it there safely, the bags piled on top of his bed. From the window, Hinata could see the sun beginning to set over the school grounds, the buildings and trees leaving long shadows as if they were down one earth, and not floating far above it.  


Hinata checked his phone and saw that his mother had texted him. He told her that everything was fine, that his first day had been great, but that he wanted to be well-rested for the start classes tomorrow and was going to go to sleep.  


He tossed his stuff off of the bed, not having enough energy left to even start unpacking, and collapsed on top of it. He allowed his thoughts to wander, still watching the sun as it quickly retreated into nighttime.  


______________________

Hinata was startled awake by a loud pounding at his door. There was drool on his hand, and his arm was stiff from acting as his pillow. He looked at his phone and saw that it was a little past ten at night.  


_Knock, knock, knock._ “Hinata, are you awake? Come on, open up!”  


It was Yachi. Hinata dragged himself off of his bed and to the door, feeling disoriented. His stomach growled, and he regretted that he hadn’t eaten any dinner.  


“There you are!” Yachi said when he opened the door, “Are you alright?”  


“Yeah. I was just sleeping.”  


“Oh! Sorry,” Yachi’s eyes brightened, “But you should come out! Some of the second and third years are here, and we’re all gonna introduce ourselves. Suga-san told me to come and get you.”  


Hinata rubbed the sleepy haze out of his eyes. He really wasn’t in the mood for socializing.  


“I dunno Yachi, I’m kind of tired….”  


Yachi frowned. “They all seem really nice, though. And Suga-san brought snacks!”  


Hinata felt another hunger pang at the mention of snacks, and clutched a hand to his stomach with a groan. “I guess I could go and say hi….”  


Yachi beamed at him. “Great! Let’s go.”  


Hinata followed Yachi into the shared living area, where Sugawara, Yamaguchi and a few other students were sitting on the floor around a coffee table. As promised, the table was littered with bags and boxes, all filled with various snacks and treats. Hinata felt a sudden urge to get to his knees and worship his student leader.  


“Ah, Hinata!” Suga said when he saw them, “I’m glad you’re here.” He turned to the others. “This is Hinata Shouyou.”  


“Hinata?” a boy with dark hair said, eyes wide.  


“Yes, yes,” Sugawara said, waving his hand back and forth as if to shoo the subject away, “But we’ve been over that plenty today, haven’t we, Hinata-kun? Anyway, why don’t you two come sit down?”  


Hinata and Yachi sat down at the table. Hinata found himself seated between Yachi, and a big, strong-looking guy with long brown hair pulled into a bun. He wondered how this person could be a sidekick; he certainly looked like a hero to Hinata, much more than someone thin and lanky like Tsukishima. He caught Hinata looking at him and smiled a warm, if slightly bashful, smile.  


“This is Azumane Asahi,” Suga said. The man smiled and put a hand behind his neck.  


“It’s nice to meet you,” he said.  


Sugawara then gestured to the two others at the table- a girl with short brown hair, and the boy who had reacted to Hinata’s name. “This is Yui Michimiya, and Chikara Ennoshita.”  


They greeted each other, and soon everyone was digging into the snacks. Hinata thought that he had never tasted prepackaged food so delicious in his entire life.  


“So,” Michimiya said, “Are you all excited for your classes tomorrow?”  


Yamaguchi swallowed a mouthful of food. “I was a little surprised that they gave us our entire schedule.”  


Sugawara nodded. “Yeah, for first years the curriculum is pretty controlled. But nest year you’ll be able to choose more of your classes. Most of the people in Hero Support will eventually specialize in something, like weapons or martial arts, that kind of thing.”  


“And in a few months, you’ll get assigned to a Hero from the Orange District,” Ennoshita added. Suga groaned.  


“Ennoshita, don’t get them worried about that already!”  


“…Sorry.”  


Yachi’s eyes were widened in horror. “We get… _assigned_ our heroes?”  


All of the upperclassmen laughed.  


“It’s not as serious as that,” Michimiya reassured them, “You’ll just get paired up with someone for this year, to make sure that you can learn how to work together. Then after the year ends you can choose to stay together if you want, or find someone else, or just study solo and see if someone else comes along who you’re compatible with.”  


Sugawara smiled softly. “That’s right! Daichi and I got paired up our first year, and we decided to stay together. But Asahi and his first Hero didn’t, and now he and Nishinoya are planning to start training together this year.”  


Hinata swallowed the remainder of the candy bar he had been eating. He wasn’t at all fond of the idea of being paired up with some hero to cater to, but he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the conversation.  


“Nishinoya?” He asked, “That’s the guy we met outside today, isn’t it?’  


Sugawara nodded. “Noya-san is a second year, and he was assigned a Sidekick from his own class last year. But he and Asahi ran into each other, and well…” he laughed a little. “Asahi is a healer, and Nishinoya definitely needs one most of the time. Right, Asahi-san?”  


Asahi smiled nervously. “Ah, yeah,” he said, “He can be pretty reckless sometimes….”  


Hinata blinked up at the third year in surprise. “You’re a healer? But that’s such a cool power!”  


Asahi flushed and looked away from him. There was a strange look in his eyes, and Hinata wondered if he’d said something wrong.  


“Hinata,” Sugawara said kindly. “Being in the Hero Support class doesn’t mean that your powers aren’t as useful as the Heroes. It just means that they’re different.”  


Asahi nodded. “You can’t really fight villains with healing powers,” he said sheepishly.  


“Well, I think there’s something to be said for having powers that heal instead of hurt,” Michimiya added. There was a chorus of agreement around the table.  


Yamaguchi suddenly turned to Suga with interest, as if he had just thought of something. “What’s your power, Sugawara-san?”  


Ennoshita answered before Sugawara could. “He’s an empath. So he can sense what other people are feeling.” He gave Suga a sidelong glance. “And sometimes he makes us feel what he’s feeling, too.”  


Sugawara put his arms up. “I don’t mean to do the second thing, though. It just happens sometimes!”  


“Only you would apologize for making us feel calm and happy, Suga,” Asahi said.  


Hinata thought back to all of his encounters with Sugawara that day, realizing that the sense of comfort that he had experienced when he had first met him was present again, although not as noticeably. It might have been that he had gotten some sleep and food to eat, but Hinata was feeling much more optimistic than he had been a few hours earlier. He couldn’t help but wonder if Suga could sense his discomfort, and adjust his own feelings to make him feel better.  


They talked and played little games until it was past midnight, and by the time they decided to turn in for the night, Hinata was smiling and laughing with Yachi and his new friends. And, as badly as he still wanted to be in the Heroes’ dorm, he thought that they probably weren’t having as much fun with Tsukishima and Mean Asshole Kageyama as their first years.  


After Hinata had brushed his teeth and returned to his room, he heard a knock on the door. He opened it, assuming that it would be Yachi on the other side; instead, he found Sugawara there, smiling his peaceful smile at him.  


“Hi, Hinata. Sorry to bother you, but can I come in for a minute?”  


Hinata nodded and stepped aside, wondering what he had done that his student advisor was coming into his room.  


“Don’t worry,” Suga said quickly, “I’m just checking in with all of the first years before I go to bed. It’s my job to make sure you’re all doing alright, after all.”  


Hinata blinked. It was going to take some time to get used to having his emotions read.  


“Everything’s fine!” he said with the brightest smile he could manage. Sugawara gave him a searching look, before turning his head to look around the room.  


“Maybe you should unpack some of you things before you go to bed,” he suggested. “I always feel better when my room is put together. Makes it feel more like home, you know?”  


Hinata nodded. Really, he had been planning on just throwing his sheets onto his bed and going to sleep, but he didn’t want to tell Suga that.  


Sugawara sighed. “I know it’s been a hard day for you, Hinata. I’m sorry for what happened before, with Tanaka and Nishinoya. I should have said something to them earlier.”  


With a shock, Hinata realized that Suga must have felt his strong emotions when the two second years had been talking about his dad. He felt his face heat up in embarrassment.  


“It’s alright, Hinata. I know the past few years must have been rough for you and your family.” Sugawara clapped Hinata on the back. “But let me know if you need anything, okay? Even just to talk.”  


“Okay,” Hinata said, smiling at his student leader, “I will!”  


“Good. I’ll leave you alone now. Sleep well, Hinata!”  


“Good night!” Hinata chimed as Sugawara left and closed the door behind him, leaving Hinata alone in his room. It was a pretty good room, for having it all to himself- besides his bed, he had a nice desk to work at, a wardrobe, and a window looking out onto a row of trees, behind which was their gym. It was really pretty nice, and Hinata decided that he would be grateful for it.  


He didn’t think that he was any better than Sugawara and the other sidekicks. In fact, learning about some of their powers had made Hinata think that, even here, he was one of the weakest links. And yet…he couldn’t let go of the idea that somehow, he was supposed to be a hero. And he knew that there had to be a way to get there. His mother always told him that there was always a way, and that if you couldn’t see the path to your goals, you could make one.  


Hinata smiled to himself and went over to one of his bags, beginning to unpack his things into his new home.  


He was going to get there. He was just going to have to make his own path.


	2. It's Just a Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this update took so much longer than I would have liked, so I'm really sorry about that! Things have been, you know, the way things get sometimes. But I really want to get on a monthly update schedule now that I'm in the swing of things. 
> 
> I just want to say that I'm so super grateful for everyone who commented or left kudos on the first chapter! It means so so much to me to hear your thoughts about the story. You are all so sweet and I love you and I read your reviews like all the time. Thank you so much!!!!
> 
> And, finally, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> P.S. I made a tumblr just for Haikyuu a little while ago, and I sometimes put fics that I think are too short or, I don't know, not quite good enough for Ao3 there. The URL is hayshq.tumblr.com

Hinata had forgotten to set his alarm in all of the previous night’s excitement. This could have been a major upset to his first day of classes, had his body not waken him up nearly an hour before his alarm would have begun making its purposeful ruckus. Hinata had always been like this- no matter how little sleep he had gotten the night before, if there was something exciting happening, he would be awake and ready for it on instinct, possibly many hours in advance.

Hinata watched the world glowing yellow and pink outside of his window, and smiled. He checked the already crumpled piece of paper that dictated his schedule for the day, even though he had read it enough the already that it was probably committed to memory. The first item on his schedule read “physical conditioning”. Little color-coded blocks illustrated that Hinata would have this every day Monday through Friday, from eight until eleven o’clock in the morning. Hinata thought that this was a pretty good deal; he had always loved gym class.

Hinata had promised to meet Yachi at seven thirty to get breakfast. Instead, he found himself banging at Yachi’s door at seven on the dot, and was greeted by a Yachi still in her pinked striped pajama bottoms, her shoulder length-hair cloudy with frizz.

“Shouyou!” she groaned, “Couldn’t you have just waited a little….”

“Nope!” Hinata said cheerfully. He had known Yachi since they were both toddlers- and Hinata felt that this gave him the right to antagonize her every once and a while, just a little bit. He wouldn’t have come if he’d thought that she would still sleeping; Yachi had always been very punctual. It was more likely that she had been obsessively organizing her school supplies.

“I like your bunny slippers,” Hinata said earnestly, and Yachi brightened a little.

“Thanks! They’re new.” Yachi shifted her feet around in the fluffy slippers as if to illustrate how soft they were. It took her a moment to notice the pleading expression on Hinata’s face- when she did, she sighed.

“Just give me a few minutes to get dressed,” she muttered, and Hinata beamed. When Yachi turned to go back into her room, Hinata took a step forward as well. Yachi shoved him back. “Don’t come in! I said I need to change!”

Hinata blew out a disgruntled puff of air that ruffled the hair on his forehead. He wasn’t really sure what the big deal was- he’d seen Yachi change plenty of times. But there was a hard look in his friend’s eyes, and a little flustered blush on her face that made Hinata bite his tongue. He knew that Yachi could be shy. Yachi shut the door to her room, and Hinata waited diligently (if impatiently) outside.

Fifteen minutes later found them in the dining hall. Hinata had piled his tray with rice, miso, and eggs, and was eating his breakfast with enthusiasm. Despite his focus on his food, Hinata noticed Yachi watching him curiously.

“So…you’re in a pretty good mood this morning,” she said, cautious.

“Mhmm?” Hinata swallowed a large bite of food. “What? Of course I am! It’s our first day!”

“Um, yeah….but I just thought-”

Hinata blinked at her in confusion, and she sighed.

“I just thought that maybe you’d still be upset about your placement,” Yachi finally said.

“Oh.” Hinata frowned a little at the reminder of his dilemma. It wasn’t like he’s forgotten about the shock of being told he couldn’t be a hero. It was just that he had decided not to fully accept it. In fact, being told that he couldn’t do it almost made him more determined to prove himself. It sent something like a fire running through his veins.

He broke into a grin. “Don’t worry about that!” he said easily, “I’ve got a plan.”

Yachi raised an eyebrow a little at that. But before she could inquire any further, they were interrupted by someone coming up to their table.

“Hi!” it was Yamaguchi. “Can I sit with you guys?”

“Sure!” Hinata said, quickly removing his backpack from the seat beside him. Yamaguchi thanked them and sat down, setting his tray on the table. 

“Why aren’t you sitting with your friend, Yamaguchi?” Hinata asked, “The mean one with the glasses.”

“Hinata!” Yachi said, in the tone she always used when she thought he was being too blunt. Yamaguchi pushed his food around with his chopsticks.

“Tsuki really isn’t that bad once you get to know him,” he said, but he didn’t sound angry. “Anyway, the Heroes have an extra hour of physical conditioning. They already started.”

“They have to get up a whole hour before us?” Yachi gasped. “That sounds awful!”

Yamaguchi blushed a little at being addressed by Yachi. “Oh, uh, y-yeah….”

Hinata scowled, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed. Why did the Heroes get to have a whole extra hour of training time? What special secret Hero things did they get to do that the sidekicks didn’t? He pictured Jerk Tsukishima and Mean Asshole Kageyama getting to do all sorts of cool training exercises, and felt his mood turn momentarily sour.

After that, the conversation turned to what their classes would be for the day. All of the first year Sidekicks had the same, predetermined schedule: today they were going to have three hours of physical conditioning, and then something called “Hero Support 101”, followed by “Intro to Weapons Technology”. Hinata hoped that these classes would be exciting. He had come to Sora to learn how to fight bad guys, not to take notes and write essays.

Soon it was time for them to start heading to class. Their first part of every day was to start in the gym, and they started to make their way to the central platform of the floating school.

“I’m glad our first class is in the gym,” Yachi said, panting. The stairs to the central platform were unforgivingly steep. “I don’t know where anything else is!”

Hinata nodded, aware that the numbers and letters on his schedule indicating where his classes would take place were essentially meaningless to him at this point.

“We’ll figure it out,” he assured her as they took their final steps onto the platform.

“I wish Sugawara-san was here,” Yachi said quietly. But Hinata was too distracted to hear her.

The day before, the school had seemed quiet, with only the stray student wandering around on the central platform besides Hinata and the others from his district. Today, the central platform was teeming with activity. Outside of the massive school, students were rushing to get to classes, breakfasts still half in their mouths and hair still sticking up in the directions of their beds. Some stood talking in big groups, while others sat out on the stairs leading into the main entrance, earbuds dangling from their ears.

As a gentle wind blew, causing the surrounding cherry trees to release their petals, Hinata thought that this, finally, was what he had been expecting.

“Hinata!” Yachi snapped him out of his daze, “We have to go!”

Hinata blinked, shaking his head a little.

“Right!” he said, grinning.

_______

Coach Ukai was their gym teacher, and Hinata thought that this was both a consolation and a curse. It was sort of nice that his first class would be with a teacher he had already met…but, at the same time, he had found the coach to be a little intimidating from the beginning. It didn’t help that he had seen Hinata’s performance during the placement test. Just seeing the man brought back unpleasant memories.

Once everyone in their time block for Physical Conditioning had assembled in the gym, Hinata could see how many people he would be having this class with. Besides all of the students from the Orange District, including both Sidekicks and Heroes of every year, there were what looked like two other districts combined with them. It was easy to tell who the heroes were in the group, because they were already wearing their form-fitted gym clothes, sweat already glistening on their reddened faces. Overall, Hinata counted more than fifty kids in the class, leaving the gym very loud with the sounds of their chatter echoing off the high ceiling.

“What other districts do you think are here?” Hinata said, trying to get a look at everyone in the huge gymnasium. He realized that this might be one of his only opportunities to make friends from outside of his little block.

“Um…I don’t know,” Yachi said. She was looking a little overwhelmed by the amount of people. “Oh, look! It’s Suga-san!”

Yachi’s explanation was a little louder than she had probably intended, and Suga’s eyes turned to them as he stepped through the door.

“Good morning!” He said, coming over to them with a sunny smile. “How are you two doing? Did you sleep well?”

“Yes!” Yachi said quickly, and Yamaguchi nodded in agreement.

Suga smiled. “Well, that’s good! You’re gonna have a pretty hectic day.”

There was something almost a little ominous in Sugawara’s cheerful tone. But Hinata was too focused on more important things to worry too much about it.

“Suga-san, why do the Heroes get an hour more than us?” He asked, unable to hold the question back any longer. He thought it came out a little whinier than he had intended- but he didn’t particularly regret it. How was any of this fair, really? Hinata probably had twice the stamina of all those dumb heroes….

Suga gave Hinata a knowing look, before smiling. He reached out to ruffle Hinata’s unruly hair. The gesture probably should have felt far too familiar for someone he had just met yesterday, but somehow it felt natural, like when his mom would do the same thing.

“Don’t worry, Hinata,” Suga said, “They just have to do more work than we do. It’s nothing that interesting.”

Hinata pouted, his shoulders slumping forward in dejection. “But I _want_ to work hard!”

Sugawara laughed. “You will…trust me.”

A few seconds later and someone came and stood beside Sugawara. Hinata recognized him as the big healer from the night before. He was looking a little bit less intimidating this morning; part of this was probably because Hinata knew more about his personality now, but another part was probably because the man was looking pretty disheveled and sleepy, with bags under his eyes and little, unruly fly-aways sticking out of his bun.

“Asahi,” Suga said, shaking his head, “Did you sleep in? I was worried you were going to be late on the first day again.”

Hinata, Yachi, and Yamaguchi all snickered at the word “again”, although they were all still too shy around the third years to laugh outright. Asahi’s face turned pink.

“It-it’s always hard to get back on schedule,” he tried to defend himself. “Regular students are lucky…they don’t have to get up this early if they don’t want to….”

Asahi trailed off into a tired grumble, and Suga shook his head at him, his solemn expression only half serious. Then, the double doors on the other side of the gym suddenly swung open, somehow louder and more noticeable than the sound of students entering through the other door.

In the doorway stood Coach Ukai, the light of the sunny spring morning shining in behind them. He took a sweeping look over all of their surprised, tired faces, and grinned.

“Well,” he said, “What are you all waiting for? Come with me!”

________

It was a beautiful morning, if a little chilly. They had all been instructed to put on their gym clothes-tight fitting black jumpsuits with colored stripes running down the sides, indicating their district- and then led out into the crisp morning air, crossing a bridge that led them to the enormous field.

Hinata couldn’t help but squawk in amazement at his first real glimpse of it. The field was like the kind he had seen in high schools, with a large expanse of grass surrounded by a running track and bleachers. But beyond that, past walkways leading up behind the bleachers, were all sorts of different exercise areas. Some of them had equipment that Hinata recognized, like pull-up bars, but some were mysterious in their purpose. On area in particular caught Hinata’s eye; it was a giant net that actually hung out over the platform and into the open sky, like what they put underneath tightropes at circuses.

“Oooooooooh!” Hinata exclaimed when they stepped onto the track with all of their classmates. He heard a familiar sound of mild disgust and his eyes snapped towards the nearest bleachers, where it looked like the Heroes were taking a break, all of their faces flushed red with exertion. Hinata felt a pang of jealousy.

Hinata saw that the laugh had come from Tsukishima. His eyes narrowed at the tall boy.

“It’s easy to tell when you come in, isn’t it?” Tsukishima said with a distasteful frown. Hinata glared at him.

Before any more words could pass between them, there was a shout from of the higher bleachers.

“Hey, Asahi-san!”

Asahi jumped a little at having his name shouted so suddenly. Hinata looked up to see that it was Nishinoya calling to him, grinning brightly, the sweat glistening proudly on his face. He didn’t look tired in the least.

Asahi smiled gently up at him, although there was something his otherwise warm expression that smacked of apprehension. He looked like he was ready to flee should it suddenly become necessary.

“Aw, you look tired!” Nishinoya shouted, still on the top bleachers. By now, many of the other students had started to pay attention to his yelling. “Want me to wake you up?”

Hinata wasn’t really sure what that could possibly mean, but he saw Asahi’s eyes grow wide with panic.

“Wait! Noya, no-”

“You ready?”

_“No!”_

Nishinoya laughed, running down the stairs at full speed, while Asahi could do nothing but stand and await his inevitable fate. Near the last few steps, Nishinoya’s feet left the ground, and he jumped out and launched himself directly at Asahi.

For a moment, Hinata thought that Nishinoya was going to fall, and his eyes closed on reflex. But when he opened them, he saw that Asahi had caught him, and now Nishinoya had his arms around the larger man’s neck, and was grinning widely at him. Hinata thought it must have just been his imagination, but for a moment he could’ve sworn he’s seen a little spark, like electricity, coming from the pointy ends of Noya’s hair.

“You awake now?” he said, and Asahi sighed and put him down. That small, gentle smile was back on his face.

“You’re gonna give me a heart attack one day.”

Noya smirked. “Probably. But what a way to go, right?”

Someone cleared their throat pointedly, and both of them turned to see Daichi standing behind them, an odd smile on his face- somewhere between suggestive and threatening. A light blush crept over Asahi’s tan face.

“Oh, hi, Daichi,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Next to him, there was a series of heavy thunking sounds as Tanaka made his way down the steps of the bleachers, having just left a conversation with a group of people with red uniforms. Hinata had noticed that there were two other colors besides their own present in the class- some of the students in bright red, and others in a light teal.

For a few minutes, Hinata listened to the second and third years chatting, throwing his two cents in enthusiastically when Daichi asked him and Yachi how they were doing (Yamaguchi had gone off to sit next to Tsukishima on the bleachers). Hinata was happy to see that everyone seemed to be friends, regardless of their placement. Except….

Hinata found himself scanning the bleachers, looking for black hair and an intense gaze. He wasn’t sure why he was curious about what Mean Asshole Kageyama was doing. But he was one of the only ones from their district that Hinata hadn’t seen yet.

His eyes found Kageyama after a few seconds. He was sitting one section of bleachers over, holding a water bottle on one of his knees and staring down at the track in front of him.

Hinata couldn’t help but wonder why he was over there, all alone. Usually, Hinata was the type of person to try and be friends with everyone, especially people who were shy and had trouble making friends. But Kageyama had been so mean to him yesterday when he’d tried to talk to him. On top of that, Hinata couldn’t shake the jealousy he still felt about Kageyama’s abilities. His powers had seemed so easy, like he didn’t have to put in any effort at all. And yet…somehow, there was something a little unnatural about them, too. Hinata couldn’t quite pin the feeling down, that something about the way Kageyama could affect things was just… _wrong_. He heard Tsukishima’s voice from yesterday ringing in his head.

_“Freak.”_

Hinata hadn’t realized that he’d been staring, and he nearly jumped ten feet in the air (which was an unexaggerated possibility, it had happened before) when Kageyama’s head turned in his direction, dark eyes seeming to reach him even from several yards away.

Yachi noticed Hinata flinch, and gave him a curious look. But before she could say anything, the loud, piercing sound of a whistle split the quiet morning air, and Coach Ukai strode out onto the track, where he could face all of them.

“Alright! Break is over! Everyone get over here for warm-ups.”

Hinata smiled excitedly, running over to get onto the track as quickly as he could. But as he was going, he couldn’t help but cast one more, quick glance at Kageyama as he stood and made his way to where everyone else was.

But, afraid that Kageyama would notice him looking, Hinata quickly turned his eyes away.

_________

“I’ve never been more tired in my whole life!”

Everyone laughed at Yachi’s loud declaration. They were all heading back towards the main platform, sweating and aching and still trying to catch their breaths from a rigorous three hours of exercise.

“You’ll get used to it,” Daichi said reassuringly.

Tanaka laughed. “Really? When does that happen?”

“Probably once you reach the drinking age,” Nishinoya chimed in, grinning.

Daichi shook his head while everyone laughed. “You two are terrible role-models.”

Tanaka gasped dramatically, bringing a hand to his chest as if Daichi had stabbed him there. “How could you say that, Daichi-san? We are excellent role models! Right, Noya?”

“Yeah! We were even gonna help the first years get to all of their first class today.”

Sugawara raised an eyebrow. “Won’t you be late to your first class, then?”

Tanaka puffed his chest out importantly. “It’s a risk we’ll have to take. For the sake of the poor first years.” He then reached out an arm to grab Hinata, pulling him in and giving him a noogie.

Hinata tried half-heartedly to break free from Tanaka, laughing. He was still buzzing with adrenaline from the physical conditioning- he had hoped that maybe they would do more super-power related things in the class, but even the running and push-ups were enough to get Hinata buzzing. He had no idea how he was going to make it through two lecture classes feeling this jittery. The work was enough to wipe almost any thoughts out of Hinata’s mind besides how excited he was to be at Sora, and his determination to reach his goals. But still, he found himself looking over his shoulder once or twice, wondering if Kageyama was still by himself.

_________

Tanaka and Nishinoya made good on their promise to escort them all to their first class. Because Tsukishima had given them a slightly snide insistence that he knew where his classes were, and that it would be embarrassing to have to be taken to them, and Kageyama hadn’t had any sort of interaction with any of them since the day before, they were left with only the sidekicks.

Hinata was secretly grateful for the help, considering he really wasn’t sure about where any of his classes were. Watching the two second-years take up the lead, chatting and joking with them, Hinata wondered if they could have possibly been this confused on their first day.

They had made it to the outside of the school. On their way to the huge stone steps, they passed a group of students who Hinata recognized from gym, even though they had swapped their gym clothes for their own. One of them was a tall boy with brown hair and eyes. He caught Hinata’s eyes, and Hinata looked ahead again, panicking.

“Tanaka-san, Nishinoya-san,” Hinata said, a thought popping into his mind, “Are either of you friends with anyone from the other districts?”

“Huh?” Nishinoya said, “Oh, yeah, sure! I mean, it’s a lot easier to make friends in your district, though.”

“And ours is the best one!” Tanaka shouted. The proclamation was enough to cause some of the students near them to turn their heads.

“What are you going on about, Tanaka?” A boy from the group Hinata had recognized yelled, lazily tossing a pen in Tanaka’s direction. Tanaka dodged it.

“Hey, do you wanna fight?” Tanaka put up his fists. 

“Maybe you should calm down,” the boy who Hinata had noticed before said, an odd, tranquil smile on his face. “It’s a little early to be getting into trouble, isn’t it Ryuu-chan?”

Tanaka’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare call me that you-”

Nishinoya reached up to put a hand on Tanaka’s shoulder, stopping him. “Ryuu,” he said sagely, “They’re not worth it. We have to think of the first years.”

Next to Hinata, Yamaguchi was looking tense, and Yachi was outright shaking with fear. Tanaka blinked in surprise, then shook his head.

“Right, right! Sorry guys.” He threw one last taunting look at the group of boys, sticking his tongue out, but they only laughed at his display. Tanaka huffed and started walking again, taking them up the stone steps towards the school.

“Um,” Yamaguchi said, looking back nervously at the boys from the other district, “Were you really going to fight those guys, Tanaka-san?”

Tanaka’s eyebrows raised, as if surprised by the question. Then he laughed raucously, throwing his head back. “What? Nah,” he said, “We get a little competitive with those guys, is all. We go against the Green District in games a lot. But it’s mostly just messing around.”

“Yeah,” Nishinoya added, “Except…that one guy who told Tanaka to calm down, that’s Oikawa Tooru. You should probably stay away from him.”

Tanaka’s face grew dark. “Good advice, Noya-san.”

Hinata frowned. “Why? Is he bad?”

“He’s a telepath,” Nishinoya said simply.

Yachi’s gasped, her eyes wide. “Y-you mean he can read our minds?”

Nishinoya nodded seriously.

“But we’re not allowed to use our powers outside of training, right?” Yachi continued, a little frantic.

“Yeah,” Tanaka said, “But, like, with mind reading, how would anyone really know? It gives me the creeps.”

“Plus, he’s just a really annoying guy,” Nishinoya added.

“And, worst of all, he’s really popular with girls.” Tanaka said this with more venom than any of the things before, teeth gritting together in rage.

Hinata wasn’t sure how to feel about the conversation. The idea of someone reaching into his thoughts was definitely creepy. But it wasn’t like anyone could control the powers they were born with, right? Although, it was hard to imagine being friends with someone like that…who could be reading your mind at any moment, and you’d never know….

Hinata shuddered. It was probably best to listen to Tanaka and Nishinoya, after all.

After making their way through several crowded hallways and up a few staircases that left all of them panting all over again, the first year sidekicks were finally escorted to their first class- Intro to Hero Support. When Tanaka and Nishinoya rushed off to try and make their own first classes, leaving the three of them alone, it was with a decided lack of enthusiasm that Hinata dragged himself into the classroom.

It was a small room, nothing like the big lecture halls that Hinata had seen in universities on T.V. Inside was a haphazard arrangement of desks and chairs that were mostly already occupied by students, and an old-fashioned chalkboard up in front. At the professor’s desk, Hinata was a little surprised to see yet another familiar face.

“Welcome to class, everyone!” Takeda said, smiling. He wasn’t seated at his desk, but standing and leaning back on it. Hinata thought he looked like a pretty cool and relaxed professor, if a little nerdy with his scraggly hair and big glasses.

“Good morning, Takeda-sensei!” they all said. Hinata took a seat near the window, where he could look out into the open blue sky. It was easy to imagine what it would feel like to be out there, and Hinata pictured himself flying around, doing twists and back flips and loops.

“We’ll get started in just a few minutes,” Takeda said, glancing at his wristwatch. Hinata looked around the room- besides himself, Yachi, and Yamaguchi, there were only about five other students.

None of them said much to each other. It was hard to feel free to chat in the tiny room, with the professor standing right in front of them. Hinata shared a few looks with Yachi, but other than that, the room was uncomfortably silent.

“Alright,” Takeda said after a few minutes. “I guess everyone’s here now! My name is Takeda, and this is Hero Support 101. How has everyone’s first day been so far?”

There was a little mumbling among the class, in which Hinata’s relatively loud “Good!” stuck out. Takeda laughed kindly.

“I know it can all be a little overwhelming at first. But you’ll get used to it soon! Now, I know that this is the class with my district, so I’ve already met some of you, but we’re all going to introduce ourselves anyway.”

Takeda went around the room, instructing each of them to give their names, where they were from, and something interesting about themselves. He didn’t ask them what their powers were, which Hinata thought was a little weird. But, in a way, it saved him the dilemma of having to tell his classmates that he could essentially…float a few feet above the ground. On a good day.

What he wasn’t spared were the wide-eyed looks of his classmates when he gave his name. Really, there was a time when Hinata would have loved this kind of attention. He remembered his first day of middle school, when one of his teachers had done almost the same thing as Takeda, asking all of them to share something interesting about themselves. He remembered how he’d sat there, wishing desperately that he could tell everyone that his dad was The Raven, because then everyone would think that he was _so cool_. Instead, he had told everyone about his new baby sister. Which, he supposed, was still pretty cool. But it just wasn’t the same.

Now, though, all Hinata wanted was for his name to go back to being anonymous. Now, he could almost hear them wondering why he was in this class- or, worse, thinking about what had happened to his dad. 

After they had all introduced themselves, Takeda went, saying that he grew up in a town not far from where Hinata lived, and that he liked to write poetry in his spare time. Hinata thought he kind of looked like the sort of guy who would write poetry.

“So,” Takeda said once he was finished introducing himself, “As you can see, this class is pretty small. That’s because it’s all about you as individuals, and finding out what type of sidekicks you’re going to be. This is the class that will get you on track to wherever you may be going.”

Hinata doubted that, considering he still had no plans of becoming a sidekick. But he kept that to himself.

“Can anyone tell me what a sidekick does?” Takeda asked. After a bit of silence, a girl near the back put her hand tentatively into the air.

“Helps heroes?” she said, when Takeda called on her. Takeda smiled.

“Of course,” he said, “Sidekicks help heroes. Some heroes prefer to work by themselves, but everything is easier with someone trustworthy by your side. Someone to think of plans with, to help you out of tight spots. We call our classes “Hero Support”, right? So, obviously, a sidekick’s job is to support their hero.”

Hinata let his chin rest on his hand. He could already feel himself drifting off. Then Takeda’s smile became a little mischievous.

“But I think there’s something missing from that definition. I don’t want any of you to go into this program believing that your position as a sidekick will be a subservient one. When we say that ‘heroes help sidekicks’, we’re forgetting something important- that, in turn, our heroes help us. Being a sidekick is about creating a team with someone, in which you both bring different skills to the table. Skills that complement one another.”

Takeda clapped his hands together, and Hinata snapped out of his daze. The professor was saying all of the things that Hinata had been expecting him to say. But he knew that he was probably just trying to make them feel better.

“Now,” Takeda continued, “We’re not going to do anything too difficult today, so don’t worry. Today what I want is for you all to start thinking about what your goals are for this year. So, if you can all take out a piece of paper, and I’ll give you a few questions to answer…you won’t have to share them with anyone, they’re just some things that you should be thinking about.”

Hinata gazed out of the window again. He imagined the feeling of the air rushing up to hold him, the sensation of weightlessness as he hovered in the clouds. He heard Takeda’s voice as if it were all the way down on Earth.

“The first question is: why are you here?”

The wind in his face, blowing his hair wild, and stinging his eyes with cold….

“You all made the decision to come to Sora. Why not go somewhere else? Have a normal life? I want you to think about what it is that caused you to make that decision.”

If Hinata concentrated, he could almost feel himself lifting off from his seat.

“It may not seem like it, but knowing why you came will help you figure out what kind of sidekick you want to become.”

CLASH.

Hinata’s heart pounded at the sudden shock of dropping to the ground. He hadn’t even realized that he’d begun to hover over his seat, but the force of his fall was enough to knock over his chair and send him crashing to the floor.

“Hinata!” Takeda ran over to him, looking startled. “Are you alright?”

“Uh…y-yeah,” Hinata said, “I’m sorry, sensei! I didn’t realize I was doing it!”

Hinata could hear a few muffled snickers from around the classroom. He felt his face flush bright red. 

Takeda laughed as well, but not unkindly. “Don’t worry about it, Hinata. Just try to keep yourself on the ground for the rest of class, alright?”

Hinata nodded and quickly set his seat upright, clambering back into it with shame. “Y-yes sir,” he mumbled, looking down at his desk.

“Okay,” Takeda said, “Let’s continue. The next question I want to you think about is…”

Hinata sighed. He swore could feel the eyes of his classmates darting over to him.

Hinata had come to Sora to fly. So why did he get the feeling it’d be a long time before he had the opportunity to even try?

_______

Hinata left Intro to Hero Support with a sore bottom, the antsy feeling that sitting in a classroom always gave him, and an essay due on Thursday. While Yachi and Yamaguchi left the class chattering and excited, talking about all of the nice things Takeda-sensei had said, and how excited they were to start training, Hinata couldn’t help but feel, again, let down by how different Sora was from his expectations.

The first years’ next and final class, however, turned out to be more a little more interesting. It was an introductory course to weapons technology; and it was almost as cool as it sounded. The professor was a tall, younger woman with jet black hair and a harsh voice. At the beginning of class, she pulled out a shield, a bow-and-arrow, and a laser gun, and put them on a table in front of the students. She asked them, if given the choice, which weapon they would take. Of course, Hinata had raised his hand and proudly said that he would choose the laser gun because, duh, it’s a freaking _laser gun_

. Apparently that wasn’t the right answer, the professor going off to explain how different weapons are better for different situations, and how the flashiest weapons weren’t always the best, and blah blah blah. Hinata thought that, no matter the situation, he would probably still go for the laser gun.

They jumped right into it after that, going through all of the different categories of weapons and what they could be used for. Hinata’s head was buzzing with new information by the time class was over. But the professor said that later in the year they would start to work hands-on with some weaponry, so that was enough to keep Hinata going.

By the time all of his classes were over at 4:30, Hinata was wiped out. They’d had a break period in between the last two classes, but it still felt like he’d been going for hours and hours without rest. For Hinata, it wasn’t physical work, but having to pay attention to a professor’s lecture for hours on end that made him exhausted.

After grabbing a quick, sleepy dinner with Yachi, Hinata spent some time trying to read his Weapons Technology textbook in the dorm lounge. But, even with Yachi there to keep him focused, his brain seemed utterly incapable of absorbing anymore information for the day. Some of the upperclassmen were also in the lounge, and they reassured Hinata that it would get easier to handle after the first few weeks. Hinata sure hoped so, considering it would really suck if he flunked out of the school he’d been dreaming about since he was five years old.

“Good night, Shouyou!” Yachi said when they were both ready to turn in for the night. Hinata went over to his bed and flopped down immediately, feeling a slight ache in his limbs and a terrible heaviness in his eyes. The day’s events running though his mind, it wasn’t long before Hinata was fast asleep.

______

The next day started in a similar way to the last, with an early wake-up call followed by three hours of physical conditioning. Hinata’s other classes were different on Tuesdays, though, and it turned out that both of these new classes were ones that they shared with the Heroes in their grade. Hinata wasn’t sure how he felt about this. One the one hand, it was nice to know that his curriculum wasn’t deviating too far from the Heroes’ yet (so that he wouldn’t be too far behind when he joined them). But, on the other hand, all of the first year Heroes he knew were total jerks.

The first class after physical conditioning was History of Heroes and Sidekicks, and it took place in an enormous lecture hall, the seats filled with first year Heroes and Sidekicks alike. The professor seemed to be miles away, and he droned on with a monotone voice for the entire two and a half hour period, without ever asking questions or even learning any of their names. Hinata already knew that this was a class that he was going to fall asleep in at some point. Luckily Yachi was working fervently to copy everything down in her neat notes next to him, so Hinata knew that he could get help from her when exams came.

The next class, and the last new one before the cycle started all over again the next day, was Beginner’s Combat training. Hinata was ecstatic to find out that they jumped right into learning moves, with the professor explaining that they would be learning the very basics of a variety of different disciplines, so that they could each choose a fighting style that works best for them.

“I don’t think any fighting style is good for me,” Yachi whispered nervously next to Hinata.

“What was that?” The professor, Hayashi-sensei, snapped. She was a woman who looked about eighty years old, and she seemed to weigh no more than that many pounds. Hinata was surprised that she could hear Yachi whispering so quietly in the back of the little, padded training room. Honestly, he was pretty surprised that she was teaching this class to begin with.

Despite the unintimidating appearance of their professor, Yachi was shaking with fright at the tone of her voice. “I-I’m sorry, sensei!” she gasped, “I just…I was j-just….”

“Calm down, Yachi-san,” Hayashi said, “I want you to tell the class what you said.”

“I…I said that I don’t think any fighting style could be good for me, sensei! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be sorry. Now why do you think that?”

“B-because I’m small…and I’m a little clumsy….”

The professor frowned. “Small? What’s that got to do with anything, huh?”

Yachi just trembled at her, seemingly terrified beyond all capacity for speech. Hinata clenched his fists, wishing that the professor would just leave Yachi alone.

There was a disturbance from the back of the class. It was Tsukishima, who was snickering quietly at the scene. The professor heard him, and her eyes narrowed.

“You!” she said, pointing a finger at Tsukishima, “Come here. You too, Yachi-san.”

Yachi cast an anxious look over her shoulder at Hinata as she approached the front of the room. Hinata gave her a reassuring smile. At the same time, Tsukishima clicked his tongue, and strode over to the front.

Tsukishima was so tall that Yachi and the professor almost looked like toddlers standing beside him. The professor went up to Tsukishima with a scrutinizing look. 

“Now,” she said, “Yachi-san, I want you to watch my movements carefully. Tsukishima-san, you stay there. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” Tsukishima made a face that said he wasn’t very concerned about that at all, but stayed quiet.

Then, in a flash of movement so fast that Hinata wasn’t completely sure what had happened, Tsukishima fell with a muted thud to the padded floor. There was a soft cry as he went down, but other than that he seemed too stunned to even react, and sat on the floor with his eyes wide and his glasses crooked.

T

here was a moment of silence. Then, the class burst into a fit of laughter bordering on the hysterical. From behind him, there was a dismayed cry of “Tsukki!” in a voice that Hinata recognized as Yamaguchi’s. Tsukishima had a look on his face that could cause fresh milk to curdle, and probably kill puppies, too.

Hinata himself was laughing so hard he thought he might pass out from lack of oxygen. Even if he did, it would be so, so worth it. If only to see that little tint of red on the very tips of Tsukishima’s ears.

Hinata turned around briefly, just to take in the moment, when he saw something that made him stop laughing in shock.

It was barely noticeable. But, in the back of the room, Kageyama Tobio was smiling.

Hinata grinned.

The professor only scowled at them. “Pull yourselves together!” she snapped, in a voice that made them all shut up almost immediately. “There’s nothing funny about this. It’s only technique. Any one of you would have gone down just the same as him.”

She reached down a hand to help Tsukishima up. He stood without taking it.

“Yachi-san,” the professor said, “Being a good fighter isn’t about size. And clumsiness is usually nothing but hesitation. When you have confidence, and are sure of your movements, you will have the ability to take down any opponent. Now go back to where you were, both of you.”

Yachi nodded and darted back to join her classmates, and Tsukishima did the same, his eyes on the floor.

“None of you are ready to start fighting each other yet, though,” The professor said “First, you have to learn your basic forms. Everyone spread out! Don’t come crying to me if you get smacked in the face by the person next to you!”

__________

Watching Tsukishima get taken down by a five foot tall old lady was definitely one of the highlights of Hinata’s week. Besides that, it all became a blur of hard training, long classes, and trying to keep his eyes open long enough to do his gradually increasing loads of homework.

Luckily, Fridays weren’t full days, as everything after physical training was just filled up with an orange box labeled “Free period for specialized training”. Because Hinata had no idea what that was yet, he figured he had the afternoon off.

In contrast to the rest of the week, Friday morning was wet, cloudy, and cold. It was the type of rainy day where the rain was more a part of the air than falling out of the sky, and little pinpricks of wet settled on Hinata’s face as they ran laps on the puddle-covered track.

Today, Hinata had a mission.

Hinata had been staring at Kageyama Tobio’s back for all four, and now five, days of the past week. For some reason, the boy was always near him on the track, and he was always, always, ahead of him. He wasn’t sure what it was, but the sight of him there, just six or seven paces out of reach, made Hinata feel like he was a dog being taunted with a bone.

Hinata figured that it was probably a matter of pride. Mean Asshole Kageyama had insulted his honor, and now he was going to have to settle the score…by running faster than him in gym class. It made perfect sense.

He started off with a gradual increase in speed, making sure to take deep, even breaths as he ran. When he started to gain on Kageyama, Hinata imagined that the taller boy could feel him approaching. He imagined that it would feel like a subtle, chilling wind- that the hairs on the back of Kageyama’s neck would stand up like in horror novels, and he would know that his Doom was upon him. Just thinking about it make Hinata’s mouth turn up in a satisfied smirk.

Soon enough, Hinata was gaining on him. He started to pant, feeling the beads of sweat gathering under his armpits and on his forehead despite the cold, wet air…he was creeping up on him…he was almost there….

Kageyama’s eyes flickered over to Hinata.

He started running faster.

Oh, Hinata thought, It’s on.

Hinata pushed with all his might, hardly realizing as he started screaming and that his classmates were looking at him with confusion. He was much too focused on his goal.

He did notice Kageyama’s eyes, however; watched them as they widened, looked over just so that he could see the look on his face as he passed him…ah yes, victory was so, so sweet….

But soon all thoughts of victory were wiped from Hinata’s mind, as all he could really think about was how his face was hitting the hard polyurethane with frankly alarming speed and force. Then, he was mostly focused on the feeling of another body rolling over him. Then, his thoughts were mostly about pain. Pain, and screaming. Was that him screaming?

Nope.

“What the hell is wrong with you, idiot!” Kageyama screamed, his voice almost breaking with the force of his words. He was sitting on his butt on the track, and was sitting with one knee bent outwards, and the other drawn into his body, like a butterfly with a broken wing. The knee that was drawn closest to him was smeared with dirt and blood.

Hinata had some trouble forming a response, because his face was too busy hurting, like, really badly.

“Shut up!” he yelled, and his words came out stunted, like he had a cold. He realized that there was blood in his mouth. “I just tripped!”

“Why were you chasing me?!”

“Why are you so mean?!”

Kageyama scowled while Hinata reached up to touch his own nose, hissing in pain. Soon enough, Ukai was there, looking decidedly unhappy.

“What the hell happened?” he snapped.

“He was trying to beat me for no reason-”

“I was just running, and I fell, but then he-”

“I could have been seriously injured-”

“And now my nose hurts really really bad and I-”

Ukai pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Alright, alright. I don’t actually care. Asahi!”

“Y-yes coach,” a voice said somewhere near them. Hinata was having trouble focusing on what was happening, he was in so much pain. His eyes were squinted shut, but he could just see the outline of a person kneeling in front of him.

“Don’t worry, um. This won’t hurt.”

Hinata felt a hand touch his nose, so gentle it was almost like a warm breeze on his face. Then the feeling of warmth spread. After a moment, Hinata realized that the pain was completely gone, and opened his eyes.

He was met with Asahi’s gently smiling face. “Does it feel alright?” he asked.

“Uh…yeah,” Hinata said, stunned. He reached up and prodded at his nose. “That’s amazing, Asahi-san!”

Asahi blushed. “It’s nothing, really.” He turned to Kageyama, who was now sitting with both legs drawn to his chest. He watched Asahi crouch in front of him with suspicion, but he didn’t move away when Asahi placed a hand on his knee, sealing his scrapes.

Ukai glowered down at the two of them in disapproval. “You two go and clean yourselves up,” he snapped, “After that, you’ll be on the bench for the rest of class.”

“What?!” Hinata and Kageyama shouted in unison. When they realized they had spoken at the same time, they glared at each other.

“You heard me. Don’t argue! It’s Friday and I’m tired. Now get outta here.”

________

“He sabotaged me.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, Shouyou.”

“It totally is! Did you see what he can do? With his _brain?_ ”

Yachi gave him that look, the one that she always gave him when she thought he was being absurd, but was too nice to say it like that. It was almost a look like she was considering what he was saying, but Hinata knew that she was really considering why she was best friends with such a bonehead.

“Okay, but…why would he make you trip if it made him get hurt too?” she said.

“Well, he wouldn’t have known that that would happen!”

Yachi was quiet, apparently deciding to let it go. The day was slowly beginning to clear up as the afternoon wore on, and the two of them were laying on the grass in the little quiet park, catching bits of warming sun on their skin whenever it peaked out from the clouds. Hinata was trying to enjoy the fact that he had made it through his first week, and had a whole weekend to do what he wanted with, but he was having trouble getting the bad taste out of his mouth from his encounter with Kageyama.

“Ugh, he’s the worst!” Hinata shouted suddenly, causing Yachi to jump. “Why is he so mean and scowly all the time! What did I ever do to him?”

Yachi sighed. She was sitting cross-legged in the grass, and she idly picked at a piece of rubber on her shoe. “I don’t know, Shouyou.”

“Hmmph.” Hinata flopped backwards onto to ground, squinting when the sun hit him full force. He wondered if it was possible that, since they were up really high, the sun was stronger because they were closer to it. It made sense, right? He was about to ask Yachi about it when he found that the sun was suddenly blocked out by her face.

“Stop being grouchy about Kageyama,” Yachi said. “We finished our first week! We should be celebrating, right?”

It felt like such a bizarre role reversal to have Yachi be the one telling him to lighten up that Hinata couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re right!” He shouted so loud that Yachi was startled away from him. He shot into a sitting position. Hinata smiled brightly at Yachi and, once she had gotten over her shock, she smiled back.

Before they could say anything more to each other, they were interrupted by the distant sound of someone calling their names.

“Yachi! Hinata!”

Yamaguchi came running down the stone pathway into the park, his face flushed and glistening as if he had just traveled some great distance.

“Yamaguchi-kun!” Yachi gasped, her eyes going wide, “What is it? Did something terrible happen? Are we being attacked by supervillains? Oh, God, is the school falling?!” She then proceeded to fall forward and grip the grass beneath her as if that would keep her safe as the school plummeted towards Earth.

“Huh?” Yamaguchi panted, still catching his breath, “Uh, n-no, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that the Heroes are playing Save the Citizen in the gym, I thought you might wanna come watch!”

Hinata jumped to his feet. “What? What’s save the citizen? It sounds cool! I’ll race you!” Hinata tore off in the direction of the school.

“I…hey! Hinata, wait up!”

______

Hinata reached the gym an entire minute before his friends did. He stood in the doorway, panting from effort of his sudden sprint, and looked around him in excitement.

The gym was completely packed with students, more full than Hinata had ever seen it before. And, unlike all of the other times, the bleachers had been pulled out to create a concave circle around the gym. Most of the bleachers were filled with chattering, excited-looking students.

But the most noticeable difference in the gymnasium was the huge dip that had opened up in the center of the polished floor- a pit that was filled with a disorganized mess of metal spikes, all clustered together and pointing in different directions, like the jagged spires of a rocky seashore.

And, dangling from a chain on the ceiling directly above the menacing pit, was the featureless, but humanoid form of a manikin, only feet away from its gory destruction.

Hinata gaped at the set-up. He felt his excitement spike as he realized what Save the Citizen must entail. And yet, at the same time, he couldn’t help the slight churn of his stomach at the morbidity of the scene in front of him. He attempted to tuck that feeling away.

“Oh my god,” a nervous voice said next to Hinata. He looked over to see Yachi standing next to him, her eyes blown wide as she stared at the pit and the manikin.

Hinata went for his brightest smile. “Don’t worry, Hito-chan! It’s not like it’s a real person or anything.”

“I-I know that! It’s just….”

Yamaguchi had arrived with Yachi, and was looking at her with a touch of worried confusion. “What’s wrong, Yachi-san?” he asked gently, “It’s just a game. It’s for practice.”

“Y-yeah,” Yachi said, looking a little green and eyeing the pit, “Just a game….”

Hinata gave her a little nudge with his elbow. “Let’s go get a good seat!”

The three of them quickly discovered that no one was sitting in the first few rows of bleachers; Hinata wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, but after Yachi’s insistence that there was probably a reason no one was sitting there, they moved up to the higher sections. The bleachers were so full that they ended up only being able to find seats at the very top.

“Aaw, I can barely see,” Hinata whined, crossing his arms.

Yachi frowned. “You can see fine.”

“Oh, hi guys!” a voice said, interrupting their bickering. Sugawara was in the bleachers below them and a few seats down, and was turned around so he could face them. Hinata could see that Asahi was sitting with him as well.

“Suga-san!” Hinata said, excited.

“Uh, Suga-san?” Yachi said timidly, “How does this game work, exactly?”

Sugawara smiled. “It’s pretty straightforward, really! It’s either played one-on-one or in teams of two. One person or team is assigned to be the hero, and the other is the villain. If the hero gets rescues the citizen before…ah, well, before the manikin gets destroyed, then the hero wins. If they don’t, the villain wins. That’s it, really.”

“Aw, so cool!” Hinata groaned, throwing himself back in his seat. “I wish I got to do that.” It was just another thing that he wouldn’t get to do because he was a stupid Sidekick.

“You will get to!” Suga said, causing Hinata to look up in surprise, “Once you get paired up with a Hero, you’ll get to work as a team for these sorts of things. It’s just at the beginning of the year that the Heroes do it alone.” His lips quirked up in a smile, “It’s really fun! You guys will love it.”

“Oooooh,” Hinata said, excitement running through his veins. He couldn’t wait to get out on that gym floor.

Suddenly, a piercing screech rang out over the gymnasium, echoing off of the high ceiling. Hinata flinched, bringing his hands to his ears.

In the center of the gym, right in front of the Scary Metal Death Pit, Coach Ukai was wincing as he fiddled with the dial of a megaphone. After a few seconds, he brought it to his lips, clearing his throat into the speaker.

“Uh, sorry about that,” he said. There was some loud laughter and jeering from some of the seats closer to the floor. “Shut it, you little smart-asses!” Ukai shouted, before returning to his megaphone and clearing his throat again.

“So, today is our first game of Save the Citizen this year.” There was a tremendous uproar of cheers from around the gymnasium at Ukai’s words. The coach somehow looked caught between being annoyed, and just as excited as the students.

“Yeah, yeah. So today, we’re going to be playing in teams.” In response to this, there was a mixed clamor of groans and cheers. “Be quiet! Jeez. You can yell once we get started. Anyway, we’ll probably get through about one team from every district today. The first two districts to go will be the Red and Orange Districts.”

“You always pick your district to go first!” someone shouted from the bleachers.

“I don’t make the rules, kid,” Ukai said unsympathetically into his microphone. “Now, as always, I’m going to draw the teams randomly. And I don’t wanna hear any whining, got it? Now, the first heroes will be from the Red District, and the villains will be from the Orange District.”

“Wait, we’re the villains?” Hinata gasped.

“It’s just a game….” Yamaguchi said, again.

“Aaw, I didn’t hear whose names he called!” Yachi said.

Hinata’s attention snapped back to the gym floor, where Ukai was now holding two slips of paper in one hand. From the bleachers opposite them, two guys in red gym uniforms came down and stood with Ukai. Hinata thought that one of them looked really scary, with spiky black hair that came down and covered one eye, and a grin that made him think that this team would definitely be more suited to the role of villains.

Ukai had started ruffling in another bag of papers, and pulled out two. “The villains for this round will be…ugh,” he closed his eyes, as if bracing himself, before heaving a deep sigh and saying, “Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu.”

From a few rows below them, Hinata could hear loud, celebratory screaming. Coach Ukai looked like he was fighting the urge to make a run for the door.

“Alright,” he sighed, when Tanaka and Nishinoya stepped down, both making various threatening gestures at their opponents. “Let’s get this over with.”

Ukai went to take a seat on the lowest level of bleachers. Then he seemed to think better of it, and shifted back a few rows.

“All of you know the rules, right?” he barked through his megaphone, “Good. Get into your positions…and….” Ukai finished the sentence with a piercing blow of his whistle, and the game started. Tanaka and Nishinoya had situated themselves on opposite sides of the pit. The instant Ukai had blown his whistle, the daunting metal spikes had begun to move and groan, like there were hundreds of circular gears working underneath. At the same time, the chain that was suspending the plastic “citizen” from the ceiling began a slow, almost unnoticeable descent towards the spikes below.

“Come and get it!” Tanaka roared. On the opposite side of the pit, Nishinoya did a mocking impression of an evil laugh.

“You’ll never save them in time!” he taunted. Hinata thought that they both sort of sounded like cheesy, cartoon villains. He pictured his upperclassmen wearing dark capes and wicked-looking masks, and couldn’t help but giggle a little to himself.

Meanwhile, the two “heroes” were circling the pit, seeming to scope out their options. Hinata wondered what powers the Red District boys had- actually, he realized that he didn’t even know what Nishinoya and Tanaka’s powers were.

It wasn’t long before he got his answers. After a few moments of tense circling, both of the Heroes from the Red District shot into motion at once, so synchronized that it left Hinata wondering how they had known when to act. The boy with brown hair shimmered for the briefest instant, before what looked like over a dozen duplicates shot out from his original form, like a row of paper dolls. There were enough to circle the entire pit, leaving Tanaka and Nishinoya trapped inside.

Hinata was so focused on gawking at the duplicates that at first he didn’t notice where the scary-looking guy had gone. But the Yachi gave him a sharp jab in the ribs and pointed upwards, and Hinata gasped. He had somehow gotten to the ceiling of the gymnasium, and crawling along it as if he were simply on his hands and knees on the floor.

“How did he get up there?” Hinata yelled, wondering if this guy could fly. Yachi shook her head, her eyes still fixed on the ceiling.

“He just…jumped,” she said, “He leaped up, and then grabbed onto one of the ropes on the ceiling. He looked just like a cat!”

“Oh no,” Yamaguchi groaned next to her, “He’s gonna get to the chain!”

Sure enough, the boy was crawling his way towards the place on the ceiling where the chain was attached, dangling the helpless manikin above the pit. With every second, the chain moved downwards, bringing the poor piece of plastic ever closer to its gory demise.

“Come on, Tanaka!” Sugawara shouted from the row in front of them, “Don’t let him confuse you!”

On the ground, Tanaka was looking half-crazed as the duplicates shifted and shimmered around him. At first, Hinata wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Then, with a snarl, Tanaka threw himself in at a few of the duplicates- only to go straight through them, as if they were made of mist. The forms dissipated for a moment before reassembling back into perfect copies.

“They’re not real!” Hinata exclaimed. Now he understood Tanaka’s dilemma; finding which one was the real duplicate, so that he wouldn’t get to the citizen while Tanaka was distracted by the dummies.

Meanwhile, the guy on the ceiling had taken a hold of the chain, and was gripping it so that it was no longer moving closer to the pit. Nishinoya was darting around on the ground beneath him in strange patterns. Hinata had no idea what he was doing.

Tanaka roared, and suddenly the air in front of him began to shimmer. He closed his eyes in apparent concentration, and the disturbance thrust forward, towards another group of duplicates. When it reached them a sound a little like popcorn kernels popping rippled through the air, and it crackled into an explosion that made everyone jump in their seats. The explosion engulfed five of the clones in a ball of fiery energy. It went through four of them, but one fell to the floor with a distinctively solid thud. Once he fell, all of the other duplicates vanished.

The boy on the floor didn’t move. Hinata heard Yachi gasp.

“Is he…going to be okay?” she wondered.

“He’ll be fine,” Suga said, overhearing Yachi’s worry. “We have some healers like Asahi who are staff members. Also, that wasn’t anything near what Tanaka could do if he really wanted to hurt him!”

Suga still had that calming smile on his face as he said this, and yet Hinata couldn’t help but feel a little dizzy. But, just as Suga had said, a woman rushed out onto the gymnasium floor and immediately began attending to the boy, who was already sitting up and was, surprisingly, grinning up at Tanaka. He said something to him, but Hinata couldn’t hear it because of how far up they were. Tanaka smiled back at him.

But then everyone’s attention was ripped away from them when Nishinoya abruptly stopped his fast circling, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“ROLLING…THUNDER!” he yelled. At the same time, his hair and body seemed to prickle with electricity, little sparks of light dancing around him. A darkness began to surround Nishinoya, and after a moment, Hinata realized that actual storm clouds were gathering around him. Nishinoya yelled again, this time a primal, wordless shout, and a full, glowing bolt of lightning shot upwards from him.

The entire gym flashed with hot, white light. Hinata swore he could feel his face burn. When the flash was gone, the guy who had been on the ceiling was lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. For an instant, there was only stunned silence. Then the gymnasium erupted into voracious cheering. After a moment, Hinata, Yachi, and Yamaguchi all joined in.

“That was so cool!” Hinata screamed, bouncing up and down as much as he could in the small space of the bleachers.

“Yeah!” Yachi agreed.

On the bleachers below them, Sugawara was groaning. “Does he have to yell that every time? It’s so embarrassing.”

Asahi shrugged. “I mean it’s not…so bad.”

“Oh, _Asahi_.”

What? Why are you smiling at me like that? Suga, you’re scaring me….”

“I thought it was awesome!” Hinata jumped in. “Roooling….Thunder!” he shouted. He imitated the sounds of thunder and lightning.

Sugawara laughed. “I’m glad you liked it! You’ll get to see a lot more today.”

It was true. The games lasted almost three hours, with all of the districts getting a chance to be represented. Hinata loved watching them, but, at the same time, it was hard to see how many people with incredible powers and talent were at the school. How could he ever compete with them? How could he ever even be on the same level?

When it was all over, Suga offered to take them all to get some dinner in the town. Hinata agreed happily, almost forgetting about his worried as they left the gymnasium.

After all, this was only the end of his first week at Sora.

He still had plenty of time to grow.


	3. The Gauntlet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to anyone who's keeping up with this fic, and to everyone who left kudos and comments! I appreciate it so much.
> 
> It's looking like this fic is going to have about eight chapters overall, if things stay the same. I know my update rate isn't always the fastest, but I hope the long chapters somewhat make up for that. Thank you again for your support, and I hope you like this chapter!

Spring wore on, faster than any that Hinata could remember before it. It seemed like for every new thing Hinata learned about Sora, everything that he figured out, there was something new waiting just around the corner to surprise him. Hinata didn’t mind this at all.

One big relief was that Hinata was doing significantly better in his classes than he had in high school. It wasn’t like he was the top of his class- far from it- but he was far from failing, too, and that was a kind of comfort that he was barely used to. It was the difference between treading water in the middle of the ocean, and having a piece of driftwood to hold onto. It was letting Hinata breathe.

After the incident on the track, Hinata hadn’t had much interaction with Kageyama Tobio. The boy continued to be grouchy and reclusive, and it still ticked Hinata off (and, if he was honest with himself, made him frustratingly curious) but he decided to leave it be. At least, as much as Hinata was capable of letting anything just _be_.

After all, it wasn’t like there weren’t plenty of interesting people at Sora for Hinata to get to know. As the weeks piled up, he was learning more and more about all of his fellow classmates. By May, he was pretty well-acquainted with most of the Sidekicks from his district, and many of the heroes, too. He spoke to people from other districts whenever he got the chance, but Nishinoya had been right about it being a lot easier to make friends with people from your own district. It was nice, though; They were starting to feel like a family to Hinata.

Nishinoya’s advice about staying away from Oikawa Tooru, however, was proving to be a little bit hard to follow. Honestly, the guy was like some kind of celebrity at Sora. Whether the reasons were positive or negative, his name seemed to always be on everyone’s lips. There had been some people like that in Hinata’s high school, people who were particularly good-looking or star sports players or who were always making jokes in class. People who everyone knew of, even if they didn’t actually know them personally. Oikawa Tooru was like that. Sometimes, Hinata would pass him in the hallway and catch his eye, and wonder if the shivers running down his spine were a figment of his imagination. Wonder if Oikawa was reading his mind.

The guy was so popular at Sora that Hinata was surprised to find out that he was a Sidekick. But then he remembered Asahi saying that you couldn’t really fight villains with healing powers…he supposed you couldn’t exactly fight with telepathy. At least, not in the punching-people-and-sending-them-into-the-stratosphere kind of way.

Either way, Hinata wanted to make as many friends as he possibly could. Part of this was just his personality, but another part was because he had gone so long having no one but Yachi understand him. Now that he was surrounded by people like him, he was going to make the most of it.

One day, Hinata, Yachi, and Yamaguchi decided to go outside on the front steps to eat lunch. It was getting warmer, and all the cherry blossoms had fallen, giving way to full, dark green leaves. There was a courtyard in the center of the school building with tables to eat at, but many students preferred to eat on the steps, where they could look out over the grounds and into the vast blue sky beyond. When Hinata had finished eating, he offered to take his and his friends’ garbage over to the trash can at the bottom of the steps. He skipped down three steps at a time, throwing a bit of power in to give him that extra lift. Technically speaking, students weren’t supposed to use their powers without supervision, but Hinata was learning that you could usually get away with using them for little conveniences, as long as you were careful. People who could generate fire would heat up their cooling coffee...that kind of thing. Hinata hummed, gliding with controlled speed through the air, and landing softly.

Feeling rambunctious, Hinata tried to throw his wad of trash into the can from a few feet away.

“Aaaw!” he groaned when the garbage missed by several feet, landing on the pale cobblestones. But he smiled and resumed his humming as he went over to fetch it.

“Throwing out the trash, throwing out the trash- _aahg!_ ”

Hinata fell onto the hard stones, having tripped over something large. After he had overcome his shock, he looked over to see that that something was actually a person- a boy with blond hair and brown roots, and a Gameboy clutched in his hands. For an instant, the boy stared at Hinata with wide, startled eyes.

Then, he vanished.

Hinata shot backwards a little in surprise. Then he moved forward again, curiosity prompting him to reach his arm forward. It hung in the air for a moment, but soon came into contact with something soft.

The air shimmered oddly, and soon the boy reappeared. Hinata realized that he had taken hold of the sleeve of the stranger’s jacket, and let go quickly, feeling his face heat up.

“Sorry!” he blurted out, “I didn’t, uh, see you….”

“It’s okay,” the boy said, still watching Hinata with a wary expression, like a guarded cat. “I was invisible.”

“Oh!” Hinata exclaimed. “I mean, I knew that, but, wow! That’s so cool!”

The boy looked down at his hands. Hinata scooted closer to him.

“Why were you being invisible? Are you invisible all the time?” He asked, getting excited. He loved to meet people and talk to them about their powers. He hadn’t met anyone with invisibility yet.

“Uh…” the boy started, still not quite looking at Hinata. “Not all the time. Just, sometimes.”

“Oh, okay,” Hinata said, “What’s your name? I’m Hinata. Hinata Shouyou!”

“Hinata….” For a moment, Hinata thought that the boy was going to comment on his name. But then he just said, “My name’s Kozume Kenma.”

“Kenma!” Hinata said happily, “It’s nice to meet you!”

“Uh…yeah. You too.”

“What are you playing? Is it fun?”

Kenma shrugged, and Hinata scooted closer to him so that he could see what he was doing. After a little while of watching Kenma play in silence, he began to explain his game to Hinata. They stayed like this for several minutes.

“You’re really good at this game!” Hinata said.

Kenma smiled a little. “Maybe I can teach you how to play.”

“That’d be amazing! Maybe you can come sit with me and my friends! They’re on the steps over there.”

But Kenma seemed to draw in on himself a little at Hinata’s offer. “Maybe next time,” he said quietly.

“Okay! Next time!”

“Hinata?” Hinata looked up to see Yachi and Yamaguchi coming towards them. Before they got too close, Kenma vanished once again.

“What are you doing?” Yachi asked. Hinata realized that, to them, he looked like he was just crouching on the ground next to nothing.

“Um…” he said, giving one last look over to the spot where he knew Kenma was still sitting, unseen. He gave his friends a bright smile. “Nothing! Just thought I saw something on the ground!” “Well, come on, we’re gonna be late to class!”

“Oh! Right!” Hinata shot up off the ground. When he went to meet his friends, he was sure to make a path around the spot where he assumed that his new friend was still sitting.

As they walked away, Hinata made sure to send a quick wave and a smile behind him.

And, for an instant, Kenma reappeared to wave back.

_______

“Do you ever wonder who your Hero is going to be?”

“Huh?” Hinata looked up from the textbook he had been squinting at, his pen resting against his chin as he attempted to take notes about how society’s views on super-humans has changed since the first generation of superheroes at the dawn of the twentieth century. They had been assigned eighty pages of reading, and Hinata was starting to feel like his eyeballs were going to shrivel up and fall out of his skull.

He and Yachi were studying in her room. Hinata liked to go there to work, because she would always keep him on track, and she had tons of highlighters and fancy paper and things, and because she always had plenty of little snacks stashed away that she didn’t mind sharing. Yachi was on her bed, laying on her stomach and doing something on her computer. Hinata sat on her floor. The sun was setting, and the little dorm room glowed a vibrant, purple-tinted orange.

“I mean, do you ever think about which Hero you’re going to be assigned?” Yachi said again, not looking away from whatever she was doing on her laptop.

Hinata frowned. This was a subject that he tried his hardest not to think about. Not only did the idea of being someone’s sidekick still sting his pride, but the selection of heroes he had to choose from was…less than pleasant. He couldn’t imagine spending an entire semester with either of the first year heroes. He couldn’t even imagine hanging out with them.

“I dunno,” Hinata said. “What about you?”

“Well, of course I’m thinking about it!” Yachi shouted, rolling over so that she was sitting up and facing Hinata. “We only have a month until we get our assignments!”

Hinata chewed on his pen, pretending to focus on his reading. “Hmm…yeah….”

“There aren’t even enough first year Heroes in our district,” Yachi continued, sounding more and more stressed, “What are they gonna do with the extra person?”

Hinata sat back on his hands. “Don’t worry Yachi! I’m sure you’ll end up with someone great. They wouldn’t let anyone get left out like that.” Unfortunately.

Yachi sighed heavily, then smiled. “You’re right, Shouyou. I’m just overthinking things again! I shouldn’t have distracted you from studying, I’m sorry!”

Hinata couldn’t help but smile at Yachi’s apologetic face. For his entire life, she had been the one person outside of his family who was always there for him. Until recently, she was the only one who knew what it was like to be the child of superheroes…well, in Yachi’s case, one superhero. Yachi’s dad was just a regular guy, but he didn’t live with them. Apparently her mom’s exploits had gotten to be a little too much for him eventually.

He thought about everything that Yachi had done for him and his family after his dad had died. They had both only been fifteen, but she had cooked and brought them dinner for weeks, and had looked after Natsu, and had even done Hinata’s homework for him a few times. She had sat with Hinata while he cried and cried, while he acted in ways that made him embarrassed and confused, looking back on them.

Hinata reflected on all of these things, feeling grateful that Yachi was a part of his life. “I wish you could just be my partner, Hito-chan,” he declared suddenly.

Yachi’s eyes widened, her cheeks flushing.

“I-I wish that too, Shouyou!” she said, “Of course!”

They stared at each other for a moment, and then both started to laugh.

After a moment, Hinata went back to studying, and tried to put all thoughts of Heroes out of his mind.

_______

Once April ended, Hinata’s classes really began to pick up steam. In some classes, like history, this was a decidedly negative thing, which came with a ridiculous onslaught of facts, and essays due almost every week. In other classes, however, the progression was nothing but exciting.

Hinata was over the moon when Hayashi-sensei finally declared that they were ready to move on to actually sparring with each other. It was nice that Physical Combat was a class that he always got to move in, but there was something lackluster about standing in one spot and practicing kicking the air for four hours a week. Hinata was ready to see some real action.

At first they were allowed to choose their own sparring partners. Hinata practiced moves with Yachi, then with Yamaguchi, both taking each other down in near equal amounts. Even Tsukishima cracked a smile while he and Yamaguchi fought. None of them were going at each other with much effort, but they were having fun- laughing and squealing even as they repeatedly hit the padded floor. Unfortunately, Hayashi heard how much fun they were having.

“You won’t be laughing when a villain has their knife to your throat because you didn’t have the proper skills to get away from them,” she snapped. “Alright, it’s obvious that this class cannot handle choosing partners. What you should have done was find the person who would challenge you the most, not the ones who would distract you the most. I will now be selecting your partners randomly.”

There was a collective sound of misery from the class. The professor just shook her head, reaching for her class list and reading out names at random.

Hinata had no problems with his first few partners. If anything, there was even more awkward giggling between them now that they were less familiar with each other. Hinata could still feel hesitation and uncertainty, both in himself and his partners, and it was somewhat frustrating to him. But he supposed that it was to be expected from their first time actually fighting other people.

Everything was fine until they were instructed to rotate partners again. This time, Hinata found himself face to face with none other than Kageyama Tobio.

Hinata threw himself backwards in surprise. “You!” he shouted, getting into a defensive pose.

Kageyama tilted his head to the side in confusion, kind of like the way puppies did when they didn’t understand you. “Uh….”

Hinata ignored the clueless expression on Kageyama’s face. He knew that _he_ knew that they were sworn enemies after what had happened that one day on the track. Overcoming his shock, Hinata’s face split into a grin.

“You’re going down!” he declared. Kageyama might have been bigger than him, but they had all just started learning, they were all on the same level. If he just gave it his all, he was sure that he could-

“Gwaah!” Hinata’s world turned upside down. Before he even knew what was happening, he was on his butt on the floor, his entire body aching with the shock of his fall. He looked up at Kageyama, dazed.

The asshole was standing right there above him. His expression hadn’t even changed.

“What was that?” Hinata shouted. He regained his wits quick, and sprung up to face his opponent with a fierce expression.

“What?” Kageyama said, one eyebrow slightly raised as he looked down at Hinata. Hinata couldn’t tell if he was genuinely confused or just messing with him. Either way, Hinata felt felt hot, competitive anger rush through him.

“I mean, what the hell what that?!” He snapped. He knew he was being too loud, and could sense some of his classmates’ eyes on him, but couldn’t stop himself. “You..you used your powers on me, or something! That was just freaky!”

Kageyama’s eyes narrowed dangerously. In a second, he shot towards Hinata, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling their faces close. He didn’t say anything, but the anger in his dark eyes made Hinata’s pulse spike with fear.

 _That’s it,_ Hinata thought, _I’m dead. My life is over. Mom always told me to stop messing with guys who’re bigger than me...._

“Hey! Is there a problem over there?” Hayashi-sensei snapped, jolting Hinata out of his paralyzed state. He hadn’t even realized that he had closed his eyes, bracing for Kageyama to pummel him into the floor. When he cracked one of them open, he saw that the entire class had stopped sparring and were watching the two of them. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Yachi looking like she was ready to pass out from fear.

“Tch,” Kageyama half-threw Hinata to the ground, where he stumbled, but was able to remain on his feet.

Sensei gave the two of them a long, shrewd look before crossing her arms. “Switch partners, everyone! And mind your own damn business, why don’t you? Move!”

Kageyama was already storming away. Hinata could hear Yachi next to him asking if he was alright, but he was too focused on his anger and frustration to pay answer her.

“Hey!” he shouted at Kageyama’s broad back. The boy stopped, but didn’t turn to look at Hinata.

Hinata took a deep breath. “Next time, I’m gonna beat you,” he said evenly.

“Shouyou!” Yachi groaned.

Kageyama didn’t say anything. He just walked away to find another partner, leaving Hinata breathing hard, adrenaline still giving him a rush that nearly made him feel dizzy.

_Next time._

_______

“I think I’ve figured out why Kageyama hates me so much!”

Yachi jumped in her seat with a yelp, the juicebox she had been drinking going flying. She had been sitting alone at a table in the cafeteria waiting for Hinata, but he supposed that she probably hadn’t expected him to come up from behind her and start shouting. Oops.

“

You know you can’t surprise me like that,” Yachi said as Hinata ducked under the table to retrieve her juice box.

“Sorry.”

“

What is it you wanted to tell me about?”

“Oh! yeah.” Hinata settled into a seat. “I think I’ve figured out why Kageyama is out to get me. And also why he’s just a super mean jerkface in general.”

“Really? Why?”

“Okay, get this,” Hinata started, pausing to add dramatic effect, “Kageyama’s parents...are villains!”

Yachi chewed her food thoughtfully. “Do they even let villains’ kids into Sora?” she wondered after swallowing a mouthful.

“Wha- of course they do! They can’t just discriminate against people because of their parents.”

Yachi continued to eat silently, watching Hinata with a level expression.

“Gah!” Hinata exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. “Look, I’m not saying that he’s a mean jerk because his parents are villains. I’m saying his parents are villains because he’s a mean jerk!”

Yachi frowned. “What?”

“Ugh. It’s, you know, dedic...didactic reasoning, or whatever.”

“Deductive?”

“Yeah!” Hinata shouted so loud that Yachi jumped again. She did that a lot when she was around Hinata.

She was still wearing her contemplative frown. “Do villains even have kids? That’s so weird to think about.”

“Yeah,” Hinata agreed. “But it’s gotta happen sometimes, right?”

“I guess...” Yachi still looked unconvinced. “But then why would they send them to a hero academy? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Hmm...” Hinata put on his best thinking face, as if the more he squeezed up his facial muscles, the more his brain would come up with ideas. It must have worked, because one popped into his head, and he gasped. “They’re probably looking for intel!”

Yachi nodded. “Oooh, that makes sense.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Hinata was getting worked up again. “I bet Kageyama’s a spy, and he’s reporting everything we do back to his supervillain parents!”

“Or maybe only one of his parents is a villain,” Yachi suggested. A thought popped into her head and she let out a little gasp. “What if one of his parents is a villain, and the other is a hero?”

Hinata snickered. “That sounds like a bad romance novel.” But after a moment of thought, his eyes widened. “Wait! What if one of his parents is a villain and the other is a hero, and the one that’s a villain got put in jail by my parents! And the hero one sent him here to try and get him to be good but he’s really evil and wants his villain parent out of jail so they can take over the world and that’s why he hates me and-”

“Hinata! Calm down,” Yachi said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you think you should just leave it alone? I mean, it’s not like he’s ever come up to you on his own before. No matter what’s going on, I think it’s best if you just stay away from him, you know?”

Hinata pictured the look in Kageyama’s eyes the last time he had provoked him, and shuddered despite himself.“I guess....” he muttered. He supposed he could at least try to just stay out of Kageyama’s way.

After all, how hard could it be to just stay away from the guy?

_____

Every Friday afternoon, Coach Ukai held a round of Save the Citizen. Sometimes he decided to have people play teams, and others he called names in pairs. It was always interesting, because Hinata got to see all of the heroes go up against each other, but he still found himself fidgeting with pent up energy as he watched them use their powers on the gym floor. Hinata wanted to get in on the action.

On one of the days when Ukai decided to call up individuals, the representative from the Orange District was a girl whom Hinata had seen around, but had only had a handful of interactions with. One reason for this was that their paths didn’t seem to frequently cross...the second was that she was unreasonably, terrifyingly gorgeous, and the few times that he had spoken to her had been fumbling, embarrassing disasters. Tanaka and Nishinoya were always talking about her; her status at the school seemed to border on mythological.

“She’s so pretty!” Both Hinata and Yachi groaned at the same time when she stepped out onto the floor.

“Do you know what her power is?” Yamaguchi wondered aloud. This time, he had brought Tsukishima with him, and the tall boy was sitting next to his friend looking as bored as usual.

“I think she has like, laser eyes,” Tsuki said, “And she can fly.”

“She has _two_ powers?” Hinata gasped.

Tsukishima gave Hinata the sort of look that one would give a fly that had just landed on their lunch. “Well, she has two famous superhero parents, so it makes sense.”

“But _I_ have two famous superhero parents!” Hinata whined. He fell back onto the hard bleachers with a dejected thud. “Life is so unfair.”

Tsukishima smirked. “Maybe the two of them cancelled each other out. That would explain why you’re such a dud.”

“Take that back!” Hinata yelled, flinging himself over Yamaguchi to get to Tsukishima. There was a minor tussle, during which Hinata did the majority of the actual tussling. Tsukishima mostly just leaned idly sideways out of Hinata’s reach, smirking, and Yamaguchi just looked mildly uncomfortable to have Hinata wriggling around in his lap like an angry animal.

After several seconds of this, Yachi reached over and pulled Hinata back into his seat by the back of his collar. “They’re starting!” she said.

All of them quickly shifted their attention to what was happening on the gym floor. Sure enough, Coach Ukai had already blown his whistle, and the mess of spikes in the pit had begun to churn underneath the helpless mannequin hanging from the ceiling.

It seemed that Tsukishima had been right about Kiyoko. While her opponent only had a single power (stretching her body into unreasonable shapes and configurations), Kiyoko had the ability to fly as well as the power to shoot frightening, purple-blue lasers directly from her pupils.

Kiyoko was playing the part of the hero, and the game only lasted a handful of minutes. While the red-haired stretchy girl was able to intagle Kiyoko in her long arms before she could fly up to reach the mock citizen, Kiyoko quickly broke free with a well-placed (yet restrained) laser blast. Soon enough, she was using her power to slice the rope holding mannequin hostage, and gently bringing her down to safety.

“Wow!” Both Hinata and Yachi gasped as the whistle sounded again, this time signifying the end of the game.

“She’s like Wonder Woman,” Yachi said, a tad dreamily.

“Yeah,” Hinata couldn’t help the slight pang of jealousy that ran through him at the thought of someone being born with not just one, but two incredibly useful powers.

Then he saw Kiyoko Shimizu walk over to the red-haired and stretchy girl who had been her opponent, a shy apologetic smile on her face. The girl was getting the slight burn on her arm from Kiyoko’s lasers treated by a healer. As Hinata watched, Kiyoko started talking with the girl, seeming to ask worriedly if she was alright even as the healer took care of any injury with ease.

Jealousy, Hinata decided, was a mean and purposeless emotion.

If he was ever going to be like the Heroes he admired, then he would have to look at them as a source of inspiration, and motivation to work hard. Jealousy never had to be a part of the equation.

______

Hinata Shouyou had never been the type to back down from a challenge.

Even if, in this case, it was actually a challenge that he had lain down himself. (Even if, most of the time, it was a challenge that he had lain down himself).

During their last combat class, Hinata had thrown down the gauntlet at Kageyama’s feet, and despite his resolution to stay away from the guy, Hinata had to meet the challenge. Even though Hayashi-sensei was still imposing the no chosen partners rule, Hinata made sure when the time came that he was close enough to Kageyama that they would eventually get matched with each other.

_You should choose the person who will challenge you the most._

Well, Hinata was certainly accomplishing that. Through his anxiousness, he wondered if Hayashi would notice his efforts and give him a boost in his participation grade. Although, really, it was Hinata’s pride that he was the most worried about at that moment. Well, his pride, and probably the general not-brokenness of all of his bones, and how badly he wished to keep them that way.

Kageyama didn’t look surprised to see Hinata marching up to him with determination in his eyes one they were instructed to switch, lining them up with one another for the second time. He just stood there, arms at his sides, looking maybe mildly expectant but not much else.

They didn’t exchange any words. Hinata glared up at Kageyama with fiery passion. Kageyama glared down at Hinata with cool distain.

You can do this, Hinata thought. It doesn’t matter that he’s bigger and meaner than you. All you have to do is hold your stance.

In less than the time it takes for a cat to spring once it’s touched the water, Hinata was on the floor. Again.

“Seriously?!” Hinata shouted at no one in particular.

Kageyama said nothing.

Hinata sprung up like nothing had happened, like he couldn’t feel the beginnings of bruises blossoming on multiple parts of his body. Dull and aching.

Hinata’s fear was waning.

“Agh!” Hinata charged again with a cry. Again, he hit the hard padding, wondering distantly what the point was of having padding if it was still going to hurt when you fell on it.

This process repeated itself again. And again. By the time the professor had blown her whistle, both of them were sweating and breathing heavily. This, at least, gave Hinata some satisfaction. At least Kageyama wasn’t still completely collected and unfazed. Maybe, if he just got him tired enough, he could get a victory in.

“Change partners!” Sensei barked. Kageyama made to move away without another word, but Hinata stopped him by throwing out his arm before he could even think. Kageyama’s eyes bulged.

“No!” Hinata shouted, still gasping for breath between his words. “I’m going to beat you!”

Kageyama yanked himself away from Hinata. “No,” he said flatly.

Hinata’s frustrated rage spiked even more. “But-”

“Why would I waste my time practicing with someone who doesn’t even know what they’re doing?” Kageyama barked. He bent down a little closer to Hinata’s face. “Have you even been learning the techniques? You suck!”

Hinata faltered. It was true that, no matter how badly he wanted to be good at this, his attention would sometimes waver when Sensei was describing the actual techniques. He didn’t mean for it to happen, but he had the feeling that he sometimes missed things. Still, he felt the need to defend himself.

“But I’m trying to get better by fighting you!”

“That isn’t my job,” Kageyama grunted. “Just stay away from me.”

Hinata was so stunned that he couldn’t think of anything to say to stop Kageyama from storming off to his new partner. A little ways away, he could see Yachi watching him with wide, sympathetic eyes. He turned away from them.

After that, Hinata sparred with a string of people who were just about as clueless as he was beginning to realize he was. They laughed at their mistakes, and Hinata laughed along with them, but he couldn’t help the massive pit that was developing in his stomach telling him that he was doing something wrong. Or that he wasn’t doing enough.

He frowned as he stomped out of the practice room at the end of class.

_Stupid Kageyama Tobio, he thought._

_____

“Tsukishima Kei and Kageyama Tobio!” Coach Ukai shouted into his megaphone.

It was another Friday afternoon, but this time Yachi had decided to get a head start on her weekend homework instead of going to watch the games. Hinata had decided that that was a terrible idea, and gone to the gym with the upperclassmen he knew the best- Sugawara, Daichi, Asahi, Nishinoya, and Tanaka.

When the names had been called, both Daichi and Suga winced.

“Yikes,” Daichi said.

“They’ll be fine,” Suga assured, although he sounded anxious.

Hinata observed their reactions with curiosity. “What’s wrong? They’re both really good, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, it isn’t really their talent that’s the problem,” Tanaka supplied, slightly contemptuous.

“Hush,” Sugawara said, “They’re only first years. They’re still learning.”

Before anyone could respond to Suga (if any of them were even going to; he had taken on that tone that would make them feel like they were talking back to their mothers) Ukai blew his whistle, signifying the start of the game.

Kageyama and Tsukishima were playing the villains. Hinata thought that this made a lot of sense.

Hinata also thought that, with their impressive powers and high skill levels, the two should be able to end the round in a matter of seconds. After all, Tsukishima could throw a force field around the dummy to keep it from being rescued, and Kageyama...well. Kageyama could probably just transport his opponents far away with nothing but a thought. Hinata imagined their opponents, two first years from the green district, suddenly finding themselves in the middle of Australia or something. He pictured them getting kicked around by a bunch of kangaroos, and snickered.

“Relax!” Hinata was shocked out of his daydream by Suga’s voice, which sounded encouraging with a hard layer of concern buried underneath. “Work together!”

Down on the gym floor, it was apparent that Kageyama and Tsukishima were struggling. As Hinata had predicted, Tsuki had tried to use his force fields to protect the mannequin. But instead of covering it in a protective bubble, he had only generated enough of a field to deflect them from one side. As their opponents approached, Tsuki tried to move the force field enough to keep up with them. “Why didn’t he just put a force field around the whole thing?” Hinata asked incredulously. Despite his dislike of the two Heroes on the floor, he didn’t ever like the idea of his district losing, and found himself getting a little stressed about it.

“Um, Tsuki can’t really do that,” Yamaguchi said, before quickly adding, “I mean, yet. We’re all still learning.”

Hinata’s mouth formed a thoughtful frown; he had never even considered that someone like Tsukishima would still be developing his powers.

But Tsukishima wasn’t the only one on the floor. Kageyama was there too, and he was making sure that their opponents couldn’t get to the mannequin- every time they tried, they found themselves being pulled backwards by some invisible force.

Time was running out, the mannequin getting closer and closer to its destruction. It looked like there was nothing the boys from the Green District could do; they were trapped completely by Kageyama and Tsukishima’s combined efforts.

But then, just for a moment, Tsuki’s force field stuttered. The blue-purple glow shimmered before flickering out of existence, leaving the mannequin exposed.

One of the Green District boys launched out immediately, seeming to break free of Kageyama’s powers just enough to get to the mannequin. Kageyama seemed shocked that the boy had been able to fight off his influence, and his moment of surprise was enough to allow the turnip-headed boy to jump out across the pit of spikes.

Hinata held his breath. The churning mess of spikes nearly grazed the boy’s stomach as he leapt over it, but in an instant he had crashed to the gym floor on the other side, mannequin safely in tow.

The whistle blew.

Next to him, Hinata heard Yamaguchi groan in frustration. But any other reactions from those he was sitting with were drowned out by a shout from the gymnasium floor.

“What was that?!” Kageyama all but screamed at Tsukishima. Tsuki looked like he was struggling to maintain his characteristic look of apathy, but failing- his eye was twitching, his upper lip curling slightly into an almost-snarl. Every head in the room turned towards the pair of them, and Ukai stepped forward, looking ready to get involved as soon as it became necessary.

“It looked like you had it handled, your majesty,” the words left Tsukishima’s tongue in a mean drawl. “But I guess you’re not as good as everyone thinks you are.”

The look on Kageyama’s face was full of danger. Hinata shuddered.

“You’re just lazy!” he barked, “If you had put the effort in-”

All of the snarl and bite left Tsukishima’s face in an instant, his features arranging themselves into a cool mask that was somehow more frightening than the hints of anger he had shown before.

“Maybe I’m lazy,” he said, “But at least I’m not an arrogant fraud.”

Kageyama looked like a rubber band about to snap, but Ukai stepped between them before things could further escalate.

“Alright, alright,” he said, “That’s enough. You two go sit down and cool off before you do anything stupid.”

There was a tense moment where Kageyama and Tsukishima continued to glare at each other over Ukai’s shoulder. But then Tsuki’s face broke into a joyless, casual smile.

“He’s the one who needs to calm down,” he said calmly. “After all, it’s just a game.”

Kageyama made a growling sound deep in his throat before turning away swiftly and stomping his way out of the gym. The heavy double doors clashed behind him.

The attention of the other students had already waned significantly by this point, and the gymnasium was echoing with excited chatter.

Coach Ukai looked after Kageyama for a moment, and Hinata thought that his expression looked almost troubled. But after a second, he snapped back to address the stands.

“Okay! The next team will be....”

Tsukishima walked over to join them, sliding in through the bleachers to take a seat next to Yamaguchi. Hinata had a feeling the only reason he hadn’t left was because Kageyama had.

“You did a great job, Tsuki!” Yamaguchi said. But he went quiet when the praise made Tsukishima’s face turn sour.

Sugawara watched him with concern.

“I really wish you two would learn to get along,” he said.

Tsuki huffed. “I don’t see why we’d ever need to. Besides this stupid game, anyway.”

A few seats over, Daichi’s expression became foreboding. “No. But you both will have to learn how to get along with someone other than yourselves, and soon.”

“I think you have to worry more about him than you do about me,” Tsukishima retorted. No one needed to ask who he was talking about.

And no one present was able to disagree.

_____

That night, Hinata lain on his bed, feeling frustrated. He had promised himself that he would start his homework early; every Sunday for the past few weeks had been a panicked nightmare, and he had no desire to repeat the experience a fourth time. But the sun had already gone down, and Hinata was still unable to force himself to so much as open a textbook.

His window was open, and a soft, warm breeze was drifting in, carrying that certain something that warm nighttime breezes often did. That something never failed to stir Hinata’s need for adventure, and he breathed it in deeply, wishing that he had better prospects for his Friday night than attempting to bully himself into starting his work.

Just as Hinata was starting to think about going to the gym to work off some of his restless energy, there was a soft knock on his door. Hinata happily jumped up to open it.

“Hi, Hinata!” Sugawara said. The student leader was dressed up a little bit more than usual- a tasteful little scarf tied around his neck, and black jeans leading down to stylish boots- and he seemed chipper and excited. Hinata didn’t know what was going on, but he could already tell that it was going to be a lot better than laying around yelling at himself for not doing his homework.

“Suga-san!” He exclaimed happily, “What’s going on?”

Sugawara’s smile became mischievous. “Daichi and I have a surprise for you guys. We’ll be heading over to the village soon, unless you don’t want to-”

“I want to!” Hinata yelped, jumping up and down in excitement. “I definitely want to! Where are we going, Suga-san?”

Suga shook his head, still smiling in that mischievous way that made Hinata feel like whatever this surprise was, it was going to be seriously good.

“Get changed and meet us outside,” Suga said, completely ignoring Hinata’s question, “I’m going to get Yachi and Yamaguchi.”

“Okay! I’ll be right out!” Once Suga left and Hinata’s door swung shut, Hinata looked down at himself, realizing that he was wearing sweatpants and a dirty tshirt. He went to root around for something more appropriate, buzzing with excitement and curiosity, his laptop and textbooks lying untouched on his bed.

____

Hinata didn’t linger after throwing on his clothes, and was out the door early enough to catch Suga and Yamaguchi heading to Yachi’s room. This turned out for the best, because Yachi required a little prodding before she decided to go, and Hinata was a certified expert in convincing Yachi to get out of her comfort zone. Soon, they were walking together outside, Sugawara seeming to lead them towards the fountain at the center of the platform.

“You don’t think he’s going to murder us, do you Shouyou?” Yachi whispered into Hinata’s ear.

Hinata snickered. “Are you going to murder us, Suga-san?” he asked loudly, prompting a jab in the ribs from Yachi.

“Yup!” Suga’s sweet smile never left his face, “You’ve fallen right into my trap.”

As they approached the fountain, Hinata could see that Daichi was waiting there for them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone.

“

I’m surprised you got them to show up!” Sugawara said when he saw Kageyama and Tsukishima. Kageyama looked grumpy but mostly just uncomfortable, while Tsuki looked like an old man who had just been taken away from his afternoon nap.

Daichi just laughed at Suga’s words.

“Yeah, we weren’t really given a choice,” Tsukishima explained over Daichi’s laughter.

Sugawara gave Daichi a Look.

“I did give them a choice,” Daichi said, reasonably, “I gave them a choice between coming with us, and sleeping outside on the cobblestones.”

“He stole our keys,” Tsukishima deadpanned.

Hinata started laughing so hard that tears were running down his face. Even double death glares from both Kageyama and Tsukishima weren’t enough to calm him down.

Suga just shook his head, but it looked like he was struggling not to laugh as well.

“You’ll thank me someday,” Daichi proclaimed. Kageyama and Tsukishima did not look convinced.

“Can we go, Suga-san?” Hinata was coming down from his mirth, leaving him anxious to find out what the surprise was.

“Of course!”

Daichi and Suga led them up the narrow steps to the main platform, and then to the glass bridge that would take them into the town. This bridge was much larger than the others; because the town was a longer distance from the main platform than any of the others, this bridge was equipped with little pod-shaped cars that moved continuously between the two platforms. Something like this existed to take people back down to the surface, as well, leading to elevators like the one Hinata and Yachi had taken scattered all around the surrounding area. Technically, of course, any of the faculty or students could leave as they pleased- but it was understood because of the rigorous program that visits to the surface would be minimal. Not to mention security risks; Sora was undoubtedly the safest place for young heroes-in-training.

Hinata had only been to the village a handful of times since he had gotten to Sora. When he did, it was usually just to wander around and explore, or to shop and have something to eat with his friends. He had no idea where the upperclassmen could be taking them that would give them such an air of giddy, mysterious excitement.

The village was small, probably significantly smaller than most villages down on the surface, but Hinata supposed that made sense considering that it all had to be kept hovering high above the Earth. The town consisted of three parallel streets, all ending rounded dead ends. The center street was the widest. It was lined with shops, bars, and restaurants, while the two smaller streets were all houses and apartments.

To Hinata’s surprise, it was down one of the residential streets that Suga and Daichi led them. The two were now walking closely together and conversing quietly enough that the first years couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“Anyone else feel like we’re being led to our deaths?” Tsukishima murmured. It sounded like a joke, but also a little bit like it wasn’t a joke.

“I said the same thing!” Yachi said. Hinata found this sudden common ground between the two of them a little unnerving.

“Suga-san wouldn’t bring us anywhere bad,” Yamaguchi said, looking somewhat afraid nonetheless.

Before any of them could think too hard about what evils Sugawara Koushi may or may not be capable of, their two guides came to a gentle halt.

“We’re here,” Daichi proclaimed.

The five first years looked around, trying very hard to figure out what was supposed to be so special about a dimly-lit patch of street outside of a small, ordinary-looking house.

Suga laughed at the looks on their faces.

“Come on,” he said, waving them to follow him as he and Daichi headed towards the front door of the house. Beyond the windows, warm light was glowing softly, indicating that whoever lived there was still awake.

Hinata and Yachi shared a quick look, and followed them to the front doorstep.

Daichi knocked on the door briskly. After a few moments of silence he sighed, rolling his eyes in a good-humored sort of way, and knocked louder.

The doorknob turned, and soon Hinata found himself in the presence of a wrinkled, yet familiar, face. Hinata realized that he had seen the tall old man around the village occasionally, and recalled that some of the students would call greetings to him when he passed by.

“Hello, Ukai-san,” Daichi said with a slight bow.

“Ukai-san?” Hinata gasped. “But-”

“He’s coach Ukai’s grandfather,” Suga explained. “He’s been living here ever since he retired.”

“That’s right,” Ukai said. His tone of voice was somewhere between gruff and grumpy, and Hinata had the feeling that this would be more or less constant regardless of the time of night. He was imposingly tall, and seemed to be in pretty good shape despite his old age. Hinata couldn’t help but wonder what his alias had been when he was a hero. He couldn’t muster up the courage to ask.

“Haven’t been able to get any rest though, with you kids knocking on my door late at night,” Ukai said. Snapping out of his thoughts, Hinata realized that Ukai had stepped out of the way of the door, letting them inside.

“Like you didn’t choose this house on purpose,” Daichi said. He took off his shoes and stepped over the threshold, beckoning for the rest to follow suit. Hinata could feel the confusion and unease of his fellow first years, but they were all a little too intimidated by Ukai to question what was happening.

Hinata thought he could see the corner of Ukai’s mouth turn up a little.

“So I take it these are this year’s newbies?” He asked.

“That’s right.”

They were led through the first room of the house over to a door. When Ukai slid the door open, Hinata expected to see another room. Instead they were greeted by a downward-heading staircase. The stairs themselves were wooden and ramshackle, like they were hand-made, but the walls on either side seemed to be made of lightly colored metal. From the ceiling hung a single lightbulb, the light from which illuminated a strip of dusty air.

Hinata could no longer contain his reactions.

“Wooooah!” he crooned, “What is this? This is so cool! It’s like an adventure movie!”

“Don’t get your hopes up, kid,” Ukai said. But Daichi and Suga had already begun their descent down the stairs, and Hinata rushed to follow them, nearly slipping on the wooden steps in his haste. The other first years went down with some trepidation. Hinata could feel Yachi grab onto the back of his jacket.

“Thanks, Ukai-san!” Sugawara called over his shoulder, “Have a good night!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ukai said, sounding suddenly very much like he grandson, “Don’t get yourselves into too much trouble.”

With that, Ukai shut the door, leaving them to cover the last few steps in near-darkness. The air in the stairwell was stagnant and musty. Hinata’s mind was reeling with possibilities.

“Okay,” Daichi said once they reached the bottom of the stairs. There was a door at the end, this one metal and official-looking like the sides of the staircase, but also dirty and caked over with patches of rust. Dachi turned his back to it, facing them with a serious expression.

“So before we go in there, I just want to lay a few ground rules. You’re all underage and, more importantly, you all have powers that you have no idea how to control yet. Yes, you too, Kageyama.”

Kageyama’s scowl deepened. Hinata stifled a snicker.

“So, no drinking for you. Or at least, no getting drunk, because we can’t really control what you do, but if you are acting drunk, we will drag you back to the dorms against your will. It will be embarrassing.”

“Very embarrassing,” Suga added helpfully.

Hinata grinned from ear to ear. “So, it’s a party? You brought us to a party, Suga-san?”

“The second rule,” Daichi said, plowing over Hinata’s question, “Is to stay away from the buttons. And the levers. We’re pretty sure that none of it works any more, but we’d rather not find out the hard way.”

This rule left them all in a state of confusion once again.

“The third rule: we don’t talk about this place anywhere but here. All of the students know about it, and we assume that most of the staff probably do, too, but still. We don’t risk it. Finally, you can leave whenever you want to, but just make sure you don’t wake up Ukai if he’s asleep. Trust me, you do not want to suffer the consequences.”

“And that’s it,” Suga interjected, when all Daichi did was glare at them all threateningly for several moments. “Just be smart. And have fun!”

With that, Dachi turned and opened the door. Hinata had expected this to be more of a dramatic affair, but he just slipped in casually, motioning for the others to follow.

The sound of music playing on a speaker hit Hinata’s ears as he stepped through the door. His mouth fell open as he took in his new surroundings.

The door had led them into a large, oval-shaped room that was packed with students. The walls, like in the stairwell, were made of shining silver metal worn by a bit of rust in some places. Hinata thought that the place looked like the main hub of a spaceship, with all sorts of screens and controls lining the walls, and a huge, rounded window at the end, looking out into the night sky.

The spaceship effect was somewhat diminished by the furniture. The hard metal floor was covered by a mismatched collection of mats and rugs, and an equally hodgepodge mix of couches, chairs, and tables littered the room. There were also a couple of miniature refrigerators, coolers, a selection of different lighting fixtures (some more interestingly colored than others) and even a television, on which several students were playing video games.

Hinata, Yachi, and Yamaguchi all made sounds of wonder. Even Kageyama and Tsukishima looked almost interested.

“What is this place?” Yamaguchi asked, fascinated.

“It’s the school’s original control room,” Suga said,sounding proud, “A couple decades ago they moved to a bigger one when the school started expanding, but they never got rid of this one. Eventually some of the students found it and started using it as a place to hang out.”

Daichi nodded. “The house Ukai lives in used to belong to the original founder of Sora, so he could come down here and check on things whenever he wanted.”

Yachi looked nervous. “Is this really allowed?”

Sugawara’s eyes returned to their previous state of ‘dancing with mischief’. “Well, not technically. But we think that most of the staff know about it and just let us get away with it as long as it doesn’t cause too much trouble.”

“See, it’s fine!” Hinata chirped, grabbing gently onto Yachi’s arm. “Lets go!”

After what looked like a moment of furious, conflicted thought, Yachi smiled, and allowed herself to be pulled into the crowd. As they explored, Hinata could see that the space was even bigger than it had originally seemed; around the a corner just by the door was a whole other space crowded with shouting students. He wondered what they were doing, but couldn’t get enough of a look over the crowd because of his height.

He was soon distracted, however, by a familiar face passing by.

“Hey, that’s- Kenma! Hey, it’s me, Hinata Shouyou!”

Hinata said this loudly, jumping up and down and flailing his arms to be sure that he would catch his friend’s attention. He remembered too late that Kenma was shy, but it didn’t seem to be a problem tonight. Kenma gave Hinata a little smile and a wave, and Hinata took that as a sign that he could go over to him.

“Hi, Shouyou,” Kenma said, his hands in his pockets.

“  
Hi! I can’t believe this place!” Hinata suddenly remembered that Yachi was still at his side. “Oh! This is my best friend Yachi, we grew up together. Yachi, this is Kozume Kenma! He can turn invisible.”

“Nice to meet you!” Yachi said timidly.

“I’m surprised you come here,” Hinata said to Kenma, who shrugged.

“It isn’t so bad, once in awhile....”

Before the conversation could go any further, Hinata heard someone call out his name, and soon had an arm slung over each shoulder.

“Hey, you guys finally made it!” Nishinoya yelled right by Hinata’s ear. “We were starting to think Mom and Dad were gonna hide it from you guys forever.”

“You first years are growing up so fast!” Tanaka said, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye (or, at least, Hinata thought that he was pretending- his finger came away suspiciously wet).

“Anyway, we gotta get you over to see everyone play!”

“Huh? Play what?”

Kenma had decided it was time to extricate himself. “I’ll see you around, Shouyou,” he said, and headed back to one of the couches to join the boy from Kenma’s district Hinata now knew was named Kuroo.

“Come on, I think they’re starting a new round!” Nishinoya said, “One of you can get on my back.”

Hinata and Yachi stared at him. After a few uncomfortable seconds, Tanaka burst into one of his raucous fits of laughter.

“You really think that would help!” he gasped between laughs, “You’d only give them what, a few inches?”

“Shut up Ryuu!” Nishinoya started attacking Tanaka with small but effective looking punches.

Hinata laughed, already having a lot of fun. He noticed that Nishinoya was clutching a can of beer in one hand (the other still being used to pummel Tanaka). Hinata drank a little in high school- not nearly as much as a lot of the kids he knew, just when the occasional opportunity presented itself. But he guessed he understood why they had to be pretty strict about it at Sora, considering most of the students had potentially dangerous superhuman abilities. Still, this little hideout seemed like a place where they could act almost like normal college kids.

“We’ll just push to the front,” Tanaka decided.

Before he could say a word of protest, Tanaka had grabbed a hold of Hinata’s wrist, and was pulling him through the crowd. Laughing, Hinata reached back and grabbed Yachi’s hand, insuring that she got dragged along with them.

A few people yelled at Tanaka for pushing through, but they got to the front without much trouble. Without all of those tall bodies blocking his vision, Hinata could see what everyone was gathered around to watch.

A space had been cleared in the center of the crowd, a space where no rugs or furniture had been laid out, and the rusted metal floor gleamed, cold and unforgiving. A small net was set up in the center of the cleared space. It was much smaller in length than a volleyball net; Hinata thought it looked like something you could buy to take camping, but that wasn’t meant to be used on an actual court.

A few students were stationed on each side of the net, obviously in teams. Hinata recognized Michimiya and Asahi playing, and a few other people who he saw around the school. It seemed to be a mix of Heroes and Villains, and people from all different districts. As Hinata watched, the players tried to keep the ball from hitting the floor, while attempting to send it over to the other side.

“It’s like volleyball!” Hinata said happily- he had played volleyball in high school, but had never gotten to spend too much time on the court.

“Yeah, kind of,” Tanaka said, “If volleyball had been invented by a bunch of drunk kids with superpowers.”

Hinata was about to ask what Tanaka meant, but he was cut off by Nishinoya screaming.

“Yeah, Asahi! Michimiya, kick their asses!”

Asahi jumped, spiking the ball with impressive force. Hinata once again thought how strange it seemed to have the big strong guy on the superhero track, even though he knew that he would probably never hurt a fly.

It looked like the ball was headed straight for the metal floor, and Hinata got ready to cheer. But before it could hit the ground, it burst into flames, and all that hit the ground was a pathetic pile of ashes. Confused, Hinata looked up to see a girl on the opposing team staring at the ball with intensity, her eyes still glowing faintly with an eerie reddish light.

Someone stepped out into the playing area; Hinata realized that it was Ennoshita. There was a moment of tense silence before he took out a small chalkboard and drew a decisive tally mark on the slate.

There was an uproar of boos and cheers in equal measure. On either side of Hinata, Tanaka and Nishinoya were both screaming about fouls.

“Are you kidding me?” Nishinoya yelled at Ennoshita, who Hinata assumed was the ref, “It hit the ground!”

Ennoshita raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, in a million pieces. You know that the ball has to be intact for the point to count.”

“Bullshit!” Tanaka shouted. Hinata didn’t think he seemed really angry, more like he was having fun pretending to be angry. Hinata smiled.

Despite his friends’ protests, the point went to the other team. As the game continued, Hinata was surprised to see that Kageyama was watching as well; Hinata would have thought that he’d want to leave as soon as he could. He wondered if Daichi still had his room key.

Hinata really enjoyed watching the games. He even got to see Oikawa Tooru play, somehow managing to be incredibly good despite his lack of offensive powers. Hinata guessed that he was reading the minds of the other players to anticipate their next moves. Hinata noticed that, after this game, Kageyama had disappeared.

After a few games went by he decided to gravitate with Yachi over to the rest of the room. In the area with tables and chairs, they found Daichi, Suga, Kuroo, and some of the other third years playing a card game, and watched them for a while. Some people had brought snacks, and Hinata enjoyed having some food and a soda and sinking back into a comfortable couch and talking with his friends. After a few hours, though, Yachi had begun to yawn, and they decided it was time to leave. By this point, the space had already cleared out significantly, and most of the people left were hanging out sleepily (or, in Asahi’s case, actually asleep, and snoring loudly) on the couches.

They waved goodbye to everyone and left, making sure to creep silently out so as not to wake up Ukai. Hinata was still full of adrenaline as they made their way back to the dorm. He was full of the excitement of a night out with his friends, something he’d begun to worry wasn’t really possible for people like them.

But, despite all of his residual excitement, Hinata fell asleep as soon as he collapsed into his bed.

_____

A week later, Hinata woke with the feeling that results from going to sleep dreading something; anxious, but not yet conscious enough to remember exactly what he was anxious about.

By the time he had dragged himself out of his bed, though, Hinata remembered all too well.

It was the morning of Thursday, June thirtieth. The day that they would get their Hero assignments.

Hinata was uncharacteristically quiet the whole morning. After all of their classes were over, they would report to their Hero Support classroom with Takeda, and be given their assignments. Hinata was surprised by how casual the process sounded- somehow, unconsciously, he had been expecting some huge ceremony in the gym, with everyone in the school watching as they were paired up one by one. He was relieved to discover that this was not the case.

The afternoon rolled around all too fast. A buzz of nervous excitement greeted Hinata when he stepped into the classroom, tangible and unavoidable. Hinata had no cause for excitement, no reason to cross his fingers and hope. He didn’t want to be _anyone’s_ sidekick.

And the thought of who his options were made him feel like retching with nerves.

It was only the three of them in the room; Takeda must have staggered it so that he could be one-on-one one with each district. They all sat together, wringing sweaty hands and casting each other anxious glances.

“So,” Takeda said, smiling at them reassuringly. “Congratulations! You’ve made it through the first section of you Hero Support training. And soon it will be the end of the semester, can you believe it?” They all stared at their professor, his casual tone doing nothing to calm them. He plowed on with his speech.

“You’ve been a great class so far, I mean that. I’m sure that you all have bright futures ahead of you. I know that this seems like a big step, but I know that you’ll all rise up to the challenge. Just remember that this is an exercise in patience, in understanding, in learning to work with someone else and function together in a way that is mutually beneficial. Your assignment may not seem ideal, but that isn’t the point. This is not a permanent match. If it works out that way, then that’s great, but if it doesn’t, then it’s not a big deal. But you must try to make it work for the remainder of the year.”

Takeda took a deep breath. “Just relax. It’s not a big deal, really. I’m going to give you your assignments now. I will tell you that we talked about this, it isn’t just random. We tried to match you according to your skills and personalities. Yachi?”

Yachi looked up with a little gasp, her eyes wide. “Y-yes Sensei!”

“As you know, we don’t have an even match of Heroes to Sidekicks in you year, so we had to do some adjusting. Kiyoko Shimizu hasn’t had a partner since her first year, and has offered to spend some time working as your Hero. Is that alright?”

Yachi looked like she was about to pass out. “Y-yes Sensei!”

“Great! Congratulations, Yachi.”

“Wow, Yachi, ” Hinata said, his fear momentarily outshone by happiness for Yachi, “That’s amazing!”

“Yeah...” Yachi still looked like she was about to fall out of her chair.

Sensei moved on, apparently understanding how eager they were to be done with this. “Yamaguchi,” he said next, a small smile on his face, “You’ve been placed with Tsukishima Kei.”

Yamaguchi breathed out, all of the tension seeming to leave him. _It's probably better this way_ , Hinata thought. After all, he wouldn’t be happy with either one of them, so might as well let Yamaguchi be with his friend.

But still.

A sense of the inevitable started to dawn over Hinata as Takeda said his name. He knew where this was going, had probably known all along, but still he wasn’t ready for it. He thought that now would be a good time for his flying to kick in, so that he could jump out the window and never, ever come back here.

“Hinata, you’ll be with Kageyama Tobio.”

Hinata sighed, ignored the sympathetic looks from his friends.

_Of course._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be a superhero AU but there still has to be volleyball. 
> 
> There must. Be. Volleyball. 
> 
> Thank you again for reading!!


	4. A Little Push

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! I told myself I was gonna get another chapter done before I started school again, but i'm a little surprised (and very happy) that I actually did it. But I'm having a lot of fun with this story, and I was especially excited to write this chapter! Future updates may take a little longer because I'll be busy, but I'm going to try really hard to stay on schedule. 
> 
> And thank you so so much for the kudos and comments!!! I appreciate them all so much and they make me so happy!! You're all amazing.

“I can’t believe you don’t care that I have to spend the rest of the year with an evil supervillain.”

Yachi looked up from her bowl of noodles. Despite Hinata’s complaining, her features were contorted with genuine pity.

“I didn’t say that I don’t care!” she said. Hinata was happy to hear that she didn’t say anything to contradict his mention of Kageyama Tobio being an evil supervillain. Yachi was usually prepared to believe the worst case scenario; if there was any possibility that Kageyama was going to try to bring the entire school hurtling towards earth as a gigantic fireball, then she would be walking around in shock-absorbent clothing and an with extinguisher in her hand for the rest of the semester.

“I’m just trying to help,” Yachi insisted, “I just meant that, you know, you should try to make the best of it! You’re usually so good at making friends.”

Hinata leaned on his hand moodily, watching the people walk past the little ramen place in town that they liked to eat at on weekends. It was Saturday afternoon, and despite Takeda-sensei’s insistence that they all spend the weekend getting to better know their heroes, Hinata hadn’t seen even a hint of Kageyama Tobio’s intense eyes and annoyingly tall body all weekend.

“He’s impossible to make friends with!” Hinata said, “I’ve tried to be nice, you know that! But he just doesn’t want anything to do with anybody.”

“Well, at least it’s only for the rest of the year,” Yachi said with a slight grimace, knowing that she was grasping at the last straws of consolation.

Hinata groaned at the thought of all the months ahead. “That’s easy for you to say, you got like, the coolest person ever to be your hero. You’re so lucky!”

“Yeah….” Yachi bit her bottom lip, looking unsure. Hinata snapped momentarily out of his funk, looking up at his friend with sudden interest.

“Hey, you haven’t talked to Kiyoko-san yet, have you? Why not?”

Yachi looked at the table, blushing. “I don’t know…I’m just nervous I guess. She’s just so cool and talented…and pretty….” The last bit was mumbled under Yachi’s breath, her face turning an even more vibrant shade of pink.

Hinata laughed. “Don’t be intimidated, Hitoka-chan! She seems super nice. Besides, you’re a girl, so you don’t have to be intimidated by pretty girls.”

Yachi stared resolutely into her bowl of ramen. “Uh…yeah, I guess….”

Hinata sighed, feeling himself lift a little from his moodiness. “I guess you’re right, too. I mean, it’s not like we have to spend every second together, right?”

Yachi nodded, seeming happy that some of her advice got through. “Right! Um, can we pay? I have a lot of studying to do….”

_________

Hinata and Yachi were strolling back to the dorms when they heard someone calling after them, the voice soft and pretty. When they turned around, they saw that it was Kiyoko Shimizu herself. Hinata’s mouth went dry at the sight of the beautiful third year. Her hair was shining in the sun, and she smiled sweetly at both of them. Hinata felt his ears get warm, and hoped desperately that they weren’t noticeably red.

“Hello, Yachi-san, Hinata-san,” she said politely.

“H-h-hi!” Hinata blustered, seeming to lose all control of what was coming out of his mouth.

Kiyoko smiled at him kindly, before turning to Yachi. “I was wondering if you wanted to go get coffee or something? We can work out times that we’re free to practice together.”

Yachi struggled for a moment to find her words. _You can do it, Yachi,_ Hinata rooted for her silently.

“Sure!” Yachi finally managed, her voice a few octaves squeakier than it normally was.

The two walked back towards town, whatever urgent studying Yachi had wanted to do forgotten. As they got further away, she threw a slightly panicked look over her shoulder. Hinata gave her a bright smile paired with a thumbs up.

Hinata turned to continue towards the dorms, but found himself facing Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were both staring dreamily in the direction of the two girls.

“Noya-san! Tanaka-san!” Hinata said, happy to run into his friends, “Where did you come from?”

“We’re heading to the gym,” Tanaka said, “But we had the good fortune to see Kiyoko-san on the way!”

“What a glorious day indeed,” Nishinoya said reverently. Hinata snorted, but Tanaka elbowed him in the ribs.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be keepin’ your eyes to yourself these days?” He said, teasing, but with an undertone of genuine curiosity underneath.

Nishinoya waved him off. “Hey, it’s just looking! And not in a creepy way. In like, and appreciative way. Like looking at flowers, you know?” He threw an arm around Hinata in that way that always made Hinata feel happy, like he had an older brother.

“You’ve gotta be respectful, Hinata,” Nishinoya said, “Girls deal with enough bullshit, you know?”

Tanaka nodded in agreement. Hinata agreed too, but was preoccupied by what Tanaka had said before. He was about to ask them why Nishinoya shouldn’t be looking at girls, but the conversation shifted topics before he could open his mouth.

“So I heard you’re stuck with Kageyama,” Tanaka said, pity in his eyes.

Hinata deflated at the reminder. “Yeah,” he said miserably, “I don’t know what to do.”

“Listen, don’t even worry about it,” Nishoya consoled him, “All you have to do is train together a few hours a week or so, and do a couple rounds of save the citizen together. This year’ll go by before you know it. Besides, Kageyama’s not such a bad guy.”

Tanaka and Hinata both looked skeptical. Nishinoya laughed. “No, seriously! He's an okay guy.”

Tanaka shook his head. “Anyway, you wanna come to the gym with us or what?”

Hinata smiled widely. He didn’t know about Kageyama not being a bad guy, but Nishinoya’s speech had cheered him up regardless.

“Sure!” he cheered, jumping into the air.

_______

Hinata spent the next day wandering the grounds, pursuing a fruitless search for Kageyama. Nishinoya’s words of encouragement had helped him come to terms with his new situation, and he figured that it would be best at this point to jump right in, to make the first move and start trying to make things work between him and his partner.

The only problem was that Hinata just couldn’t seem to find the guy.

He checked the gym, the cafeteria, the park…all of the places where Kageyama seemed likely to be. Hinata wracked his brain, trying to think if he had ever seen Kageyama just hanging out anywhere outside of his dorm. He drew a blank.

 _He’s like a ghost_ , Hinata thought. It was true, in a way: Kageyama’s way of silently hovering in the background during classes, coupled with his habit of disappearing during all of the times in between, gave the boy an almost specter-like quality. But then Hinata thought of how Kageyama had raced him that day on the track, how he had yelled and complained and clutched his hurt knee. How he had looked at Hinata with strange confusion when he had confronted Kageyama during combat class, and how dark his eyes had shown with interest while he watched the other students play volleyball in the Hideout, his excitement like stars in a dark night sky. Hinata remembered his first day at Sora, the look of pain on Kageyama’s face when Tsukishima called him a freak.

No, whatever Kageyama was, whatever evil blood flowed through his veins, he was certainly human. He was solid…and that meant that Hinata should be able to get a grip on him.

Hinata eventually found Kageyama on the outdoor training platform. There were a few other people using the space, but Kageyama had taken ownership of a patch of grass near the edge of the field. Set up in front of him were three metal hoops on rods; Kageyama was practicing hurling plastic Frisbees through them.

Hinata approached cautiously. Kageyama looked pretty focused on those Frisbees.

“Hey, Kageyama-san!” Hinata said, trying to be as polite as possible. Kageyama didn’t seem to hear him, too absorbed with playing his solo game of Frisbee.

Hinata took a deep breath, and stepped a bit closer. “Kageyama-san! Hi! It’s me, Hinata Shouyou! KAGEYAMA-SAN!”

Finally, Kageyama noticed Hinata. Unfortunately, the loud distraction of Hinata’s voice put him off his aim; the Frisbee hit the edge of one of the metal hoops with a ringing clank, and ricocheted with enough force to hit Kageyama square in the face.

“Ow!” Kageyama's hands went up to hold his forehead.

Hinata winced. “Shit,” he muttered to himself, jogging over to Kageyama.

“Sorry! Are you okay?” he asked. Kageyama put his hands down, revealing an angry red mark on his forehead. Hinata wasn’t completely sure that the look on Kageyama’s face was anger- more like startled, wide-eyed confusion, with maybe a hint of budding distain thrown in for good measure. Hinata hoped that he hadn’t managed to give the guy a concussion before they’d even had a chance to talk.

“Uh, sorry,” Hinata said, when Kageyama just continued to stare.

“What do you want?” Kageyama finally said.

Hinata scowled, biting back a retort at Kageyama’s typical rudeness. “We got paired up together,” he said.

“I know that.” Again, Hinata found himself wondering if Kageyama was messing with him, or if the guy really was just this unbelievably clueless. This time, he had to take deep breaths in through his nose and bite his lip for a second to make sure he didn’t scream his next words; even then, they came out straining with pent-up frustration.

“Well, we’re supposed to start getting to know each other, and stuff.”

Kageyama turned back to face his hoop, bending down to retrieve his yellow Frisbee. “We already know each other.”

The Frisbee shot out of Kageyama’s outstretched hand. It was through the hoop and laying on the grass quicker than Hinata could start to draw his next breath, quicker than he could blink. It was like watching the beam of a flashlight travel down a dark path- you couldn’t catch it, because as soon as you turned on the switch, it was already at the end.

“Uh, yeah, but…” It took Hinata a moment to recover, his eyes still wide on the Frisbee that was now lying innocently in the grass, “But we’re supposed to, you know, practice together. So we can win Save the Citizen!”

Kageyama picked up another Frisbee. “We will win,” he declared. Unquestioning.

“B-but if we don’t practice together-”

Kageyama spun around to face Hinata, the tossing the Frisbee to the ground behind him. Hinata gulped at the look in his eyes.

“Look, I didn’t ask for a sidekick,” he snapped, “I didn’t ask to be stuck with someone who barely has any powers!” He turned away. “If I’m playing with you, then we’ll win. So just try to stay out of my way until the end of the semester.”

Hinata gaped, Kageyama’s words cutting deep.

“Yeah well, I didn’t ask for this either!” he yelled at Kageyama’s back, “I don’t wanna be anyone’s sidekick, especially not yours!” Hinata hated the way his voice became increasingly raw and hysterical. “And how are you so sure you’ll win anyway?” Hinata pressed on, “I mean, you’ve only played once, and you lost!”

Kageyama’s eyes snapped back towards him dangerously. “That’s because Tsukishima-”

“No!” Hinata was upset enough, hurt and angry and frustrated, that he was no longer frightened by Kageyama’s gaze. “It was because you fucked up! I saw it, Kageyama! Your powers aren’t as strong as you think they are!”

Hinata was almost screaming now. Luckily there weren’t many people out on the field, but the ones that were began to stop what they were doing and turn towards the fight.

“You don’t know anything,” Kageyama said. He held out his hand, and the fallen Frisbee flew towards him. He went back to his training, ignoring Hinata completely.

“Fine,” Hinata spat, when the silence stretched into oblivion, “Whatever. I don’t want anything to do with you, anyway.”

Hinata left the track, his pace picking up into a run as he got closer to the end of the platform, the overwhelming rage he had just been feeling slowly giving way to sadness and bitter, lingering anger.

 _It’s better this way,_ he thought to himself as he sprinted across the bridge, _I’m nobody’s sidekick._

_Especially not his._

_______

“I’m sorry, Shouyou.”

Hinata sucked in gulps of air, feeling like a child. His face felt wet and sticky with tears, his eyes dry from having all the moisture bled out of them. It had been a long time since he’d cried like this- but it was like all of the insecurity and frustration of the past few months, everything that he had been trying to fight past with a smile, was all coming out in a single flow of tears.

Yachi had a hand on his shoulder. Every once in a while she would hand him a tissue or an encouraging word, but Hinata knew that beyond that she was stuck on how to help him. After all, what could she do? Kageyama might not be a problem after this year…but there was no one on earth who could magically give him the powers he needed to be a hero. For the first time, Hinata felt like he was confronting the reality that maybe his dream just wasn’t possible. That he was too weak to continue his dad’s legacy.

Hinata fought back another, retching sob, Yachi’s hand clamping tighter on his shoulder.

“It’ll be okay,” she said softly.

“Stupid Kageyama,” Hinata muttered, finding that all of this was a lot easier to deal with if distilled down to a single perpetrator.

Yachi stroked a piece of Hinata’s messy hair. “He’s mean. He didn’t have to say those things.”

“Yeah, but they’re _true_ ,” Hinata spat. Hit with sudden anger, he threw his pillow across the room. It smacked against the wall with an airy thud.

“Shouyou…” Yachi spoke cautiously, watching her childhood friend with concern. “You know it doesn’t matter, right? To me, or your mom…and I know for a fact that it wouldn’t have mattered to your dad either.”

But it matters to me, Hinata thought. He didn’t say it out loud.

After a few seconds of tired, thoughtful silence, someone knocked on Hinata’s door.

“It’s Sugawara,” a muffled voice said, “Is everything okay?”

Hinata’s mouth nearly twitched upwards; he should’ve known that Suga would show up. He could probably sense the emotional distress in the room from miles away. Before Yachi could do anything, Hinata got up and opened the door.

“ _Hinata,_ ” Suga said when he saw his blotchy face, “What happened?”

Hinata wiped his eyes. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Suga stepped into the room, guiding Hinata back to sit on the bed with Yachi. He pulled up Hinata’s desk chair and sat in it backwards.

Hinata looked at his hands, embarrassed to tell Suga what had happened, that Kageyama had gotten to him so easily.

Yachi stepped in. “He went to see Kageyama, and, uh….”

Understanding dawned on Sugawara’s face. “Oh. What did he say?”

Hinata shook his head.

“I’ll have to talk to him,” Sugawara said.

Hinata’s eyes widened. “N-no! It’s okay, Suga-san, you don’t have to-”

“Hinata,” Suga said seriously, “Learning to work with a partner is an important part of your first year. If Kageyama isn’t cooperating, then that’s a problem, and Daichi and I, or the head teachers, need to sort it out.” He sighed, looking troubled. “Administration is pretty stubborn about this, but if it’s really a bad situation, I’m sure we could figure something else out for you. I don’t think that’ll be necessary, though. I don’t know Kageyama that well, but I suspect he just isn’t that great at communicating.”

Hinata snorted. Sugawara cracked a smile.

“I know it’s hard, Hinata. But I’m sure it’ll all work out. Okay?”

Hinata nodded, knowing that, in a sense, Sugawara was right.

It’s just that, really, Kageyama was the least of his problems.

_______

Hinata barely saw Kageyama all that week. When they did have classes together, Hinata made sure to avoid him. Even when they ended up sparring in Physical Combat, they did so without any words passing between them.

If Sugawara had spoken with Kageyama, Hinata couldn’t tell. For all Suga’s talent, Hinata just couldn’t imagine that anything would get Kageyama to change his mind about just wanting Hinata out of his way.

One positive change was that Yachi had shed all of her previous nerves about being paired up with a Hero. She still got a little nervous before meeting up with Kiyoko, but it was nervous in an excited way, not nervous in the “the world is ending and we’re all going to die” sort of way that Yachi was most familiar with.

“I was really worried that I’d be a burden to her, because she’s in her last year and I’m just a freshman,” she said one day over breakfast, “But she actually seems really happy to have someone to train with! I can’t imagine why she doesn’t have a sidekick yet. She’s so nice! And I’m learning so much, too.”

Hinata was happy for her. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were doing well too, practicing together pretty frequently despite Tsukki's apparent apathy.

Hinata was happy for his friends, but he felt restless not being able to practice with his partner. To fill all of the hours when everyone else seemed to be training together, Hinata went to the gym and the training platform alone. He spent a lot of time working on his combat forms, but it seemed a little useless without someone to practice on. Still, he kept at it, if only because he didn’t know any other way to move forward, and couldn’t possibly be okay with standing still. No matter how pointless it sometimes felt.

Thursday came around with no change, but Hinata couldn’t help but be excited to see the first round of Save the Citizen played with both Heroes and Sidekicks. Nearly their whole district went and sat together in the gym, with even Kageyama getting pulled along. There was an air of anticipation in the gym like the first day of school; everyone was waiting to see who would get chosen, some with anxious looks in their eyes that betrayed their unpreparedness, and others with tense excitement, like they were ready to leap out onto the floor at any moment.

The first few to go were from different districts. Hinata was fascinated by the dynamics between the Heroes and Sidekicks, with some of them working in perfect synchronization, others struggling to work together, and still others falling apart completely in the face of the new challenge.

When it was time for a team from the Orange District to be called, everyone in their section of the bleachers became tense.

“Don’t worry,” Kiyoko said to Yachi, whose eyes were roughly the size of grapefruits, “We’ll be fine if we got called. You’re really improving.”

“We’re gonna tear it up, man,” Tanaka said to Ennoshita, who looked at him like he was more concerned about his partner burning the building down than he was about losing the game. At the center of the group, Daichi and Suga had their heads leaned into each other, and were speaking with their voices hushed conspiratorially.

Hinata stayed in his seat, feeling his palms sweat. Kageyama was seated on the opposite end of the bleachers from him, looking down at the gym floor with intense focus. Hinata wondered if he was nervous at all, or if he really did believe that he couldn’t lose.

Coach Ukai picked up his megaphone. “The team from the Orange District will be…Azumane Asahi and Nishinoya Yuu!”

Nishinoya, who had already been standing, his eyes burning with fervor, let out a victorious scream. Asahi smiled, but Hinata could see the layer of sweat already glistening on his forehead.

“Let’s go!” Nishinoya grabbed Asahi’s hand and pulled him down the stairs behind him.

As a change, the team opposite them was from the Blue District. Hinata didn’t know them, because that district was farther away and didn’t interact with them much, but Hinata thought that the two who were called looked pretty scary. One of them in particular had white hair, and was so tall and broad that Hinata could imagine himself getting squished under his foot like an orange little lady bug. _Splat!_

Hinata shuddered. He was grateful that he and Kageyama hadn’t been called to face these opponents.

The two teams were given a moment to situate themselves; unlike the last time he’d been on the floor, Nishinoya would be playing the role of the Hero, rescuing the unfortunate plastic citizen from the Pit of Doom.

Once both teams were in their proper positions, the whistle sounded.

Immediately, the big guy from the Blue District threw up a force field- but this one was nothing like the shimmering little blue-green disks that Tsukishima was capable of. This one was dark grey, almost solid-looking, like concrete, and as big as a protective castle wall. It stretched out over almost the entire length of the gymnasium floor, and was tall enough to nearly touch the high ceiling.

“Whooooooah,” Hinata gasped, along with many other students in the gym. He leaned over to peer at Tsukishima a few seats down. “That’s a lot bigger than your force fields, Tsukishima!”

Tsukishima’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t rise to the bait. “Of course it is. That’s Takanobu Aone. His mother’s alias is just ‘The Wall’”.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to do that one day, Tsukki!”

“…Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki!”

Hinata ignored Tsukishima (who really was no fun to tease) in favor of watching the action happening on the court. Nishinoya was trying to destroy Aone’s force field with increasingly intense bolts of lightning. With every hit, a small hole opened up in the wall, but every hole sealed itself before either of them could make any use of it.

For several minutes, this process continued. Nishinoya became increasingly angry as the wall refused to budge, Takanobu Aone still standing behind his field, his expression unchanged.

Finally, Nishinoya managed to open a whole large enough for a human to jump through. Hinata and the rest of the Orange District erupted into cheers.

Nishinoya moved to jump through the already regenerating whole in the field, but found himself stopped by a presence that snuck up behind him and grabbed onto the back of his collar. It was Aone’s sidekick. Hinata blinked; he hadn’t even seen the guy sneak up on Nishinoya, and he was watching from the bleachers.

Asahi sprang into action. He hurled himself at the man, his strength allowing him to pry the other sidekick off of Nishinoya with ease. But it was too late- the field had already fully regenerated, and Asahi and Nishinoya turned their attention back to the pit just in time to see the mannequin meet its ugly end among the vicious metal shards. Bits of plastic flew around the gym, and the spectators from the Orange District groaned.

A few minutes later, Asahi and Nishinoya dragged themselves back to their spots on the bleachers, both looking a little downtrodden.

“Good job,” Daichi said immediately, “I’m surprised you managed to get through his field at all, Nishinoya.”

“Yeah, tough break getting Aone on your first try together,” Michimiya added. Everyone nodded in sympathetic agreement.

“We’ll get it next time,” Nishinoya said seriously. Asahi, on the other hand, was making a face so angry-looking and dejected that Hinata would have been scared if he didn’t know Asahi as well as he did.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see him coming,” he said through gritted teeth.

Nishinoya frowned. “Hey, don’t pull that. I didn’t either. We just need to practice harder!”

Asahi looked up at his partner, and some of the defeat fell away from his features. “You have a cut on your cheek, Nishinoya.”

“Oh yeah? Leave it there, it’ll look cool- hey! What was that for?”

“It might have gotten infected,” Asahi said, smiling, his hand falling away from where it had just been healing Nishinoya’s shallow cut.

Hinata looked away from his two friends, something strange and hollow popping into existence in his chest at the sight of their easy interactions. Luckily, there were still several more rounds to go, and Hinata’s fascinated attention quickly swept this unwelcome feeling from his mind.

“Hinata! You coming to the Hideout tonight?” Nishinoya called after the last game was finished.

Hinata beamed. “Yeah!”

“You know, Hinata,” Daichi said with a soft smile, “I think I remember hearing that your dad broke records in Save the Citizen when he was at Sora.”

Suga smiled down at Hinata as well. “Oh, yeah, I heard that too! That means Hinata’s going to be great at it.”

Normally this kind of expectation would make Hinata anxious, but he felt a rush of confidence accompany Suga’s words. He knew that Suga was probably tugging on his emotions again, but it still ignited a flame of determination in his chest as he imagined being on the same court as his dad.

Hinata left the gymnasium newly energized. As he left the school building with his chattering District, the sun low on the manufactured horizon, his mind could focus on only one thing, his eyes nearly blind with half-formed plans and vivid fantasies.

Someday soon, Hinata was going to have a chance to stand on that court.

And, when he did, he was going to win.

_________

_You can do this._

The sound of fists hitting vinyl gave the room a sense of dull, erratic rhythm. _Thump. Thump. Thump, Thump._

Kageyama was alone in the part of the Orange District’s gym made for fighting practice- well, that and yoga, but that was only on Tuesday mornings and Sunday afternoons. The place was decked out in padding from floor to ceiling, supplied with person-shaped hunks of Styrofoam on sticks and red punching bags that hung from the ceiling like uvulas.

Kageyama was sweating despite the heavy air-conditioning, his hair and t-shirt soaked through with it, and there was a look in his eyes like the punching bag could suddenly morph into a living person and he would keep on swinging. His jabs were neat and precise, the bag barely swinging out in any stray directions other than forwards, backwards, forwards….

Hinata clenched his own fists, ignoring the cold sweat sticking obstinately to his palms. He tried to tap into the fire that had filled him after the watching the games the day before. Tried to hold his passion in his chest, to use it like his own internal engine.

 _You_ have _to do this._

Hinata didn’t give himself any more time to think. He charged up to Kageyama with purpose.

“Hey!”

Hinata half expected Kageyama to ignore him like before, to keep smacking his fists against the punching bag without even looking Hinata’s direction. Instead, he stopped abruptly, his hands going to stop the punching bag’s swinging as he turned to look at Hinata with dark, piercing eyes.

He didn’t say anything. This also threw Hinata’s plan a little off its axis, since he had expected Kageyama to shout something like ‘what’ or ‘leave me alone’ or ‘fuck off you annoying little baby carrot’ (that last one was right out of the mouth of a particular bully from middle school- he and Yachi still laughed about it sometimes).

“Uh,” Hinata said, trying with difficulty to remember what he had come here to say now that Kageyama’s eyes were staring right at him. “I-I need someone to practice with, or I’m never going to get better. You think I’m useless, but…but you’ll never find out if you don’t help me!”

Hinata’s voice had risen in both volume and octave throughout his miniature speech, giving away his nerves, but he held his ground. He stared up at Kageyama with all of his resolution, hoping to convey through just the look in his eyes how serious he was.

Kageyama stared down at him with furrowed brows. “I told you. It isn’t my job to help you get better. Why don’t you ask someone else to train with you?”

“Because we’re partners!” Hinata yelled, wishing he could at least get a rise out of Kageyama, like before. He hated the way this felt- like he was arguing with a tree, imposing and uncaring, ready to grow into the sky and leave him standing on the ground.

“And,” Hinata said, closing his eyes to brace himself for the difficult admission, “You’re the best in our grade at combat training. Maybe even the best in the school. I know I have a lot to learn, but I can help you on the court! Even you can’t always do everything alone, you know!”

Kageyama finally made a sound of irritation. Hinata thought that maybe he was getting somewhere, when Kageyama simply turned back to his punching bag, attacking it with slightly more aggressive strikes than before.

Hinata clenched his fists. He could handle being yelled at, but he couldn’t _stand_ being ignored.

“Aaah!” Hinata’s cry made Kageyama’s eyes widen for a split second, right before Hinata plowed into him like a cannonball. He went for Kageyama’s waist, wrapping his arms around him and pushing him back with enough force to shove him back into the padded wall behind him.

Somewhere in his mind, Hinata knew that it probably wasn’t smart to physically attack the guy with unlimited telekinetic ability and ridiculously good martial arts skills. But that knowledge was completely overrun by the voice coming from Hinata’s chest saying _nothing will get in my way. Not even you._

Hinata managed to pin Kageyama to the wall because he had surprised him, but it soon became clear that Kageyama had the advantage in terms of strength. He shoved Hinata off of him with a grunt, and fire blazing in his eyes to match Hinata’s own.

Hinata stumbled backwards, but caught himself before he could fall. Without hesitation, he shot himself back at Kageyama with all his strength.

Kageyama wasn’t going to let himself be pinned to the wall this time. He took the offensive, and Hinata went flying to the ground in less than a second. His body hit the floor in a way that was starting to become a little too familiar.

Once he caught his breath, Hinata propped himself up with his hands behind his back.

He smiled.

“Do it again!” Hinata shouted, hurling himself at Kageyama with just as much force as the previous time. Kageyama stared at him with wide, confused eyes, but obliged, throwing Hinata back to the floor as if on reflex.

“Again!”

Hinata went down. He was sweating now, both of them were. Hinata felt like he was attacking a wall, and the wall was fighting back. He couldn’t win.

But he kept trying.

Hinata hit the floor. _Thump._

“Again!”

The next time, Hinata couldn’t say it, he was too out of breath, couldn’t catch up enough to give the words something to ride on. It didn’t matter though- his actions conveyed what he was trying to say without the aid of language.

_I’m not going to give up. You can throw me down as many times as you want, but I’m going to get back up again. You can’t get rid of me._

Again and again, Hinata attacked Kageyama, and again and again he was tossed to the floor. He knew that he would probably never win; it was obvious that Kageyama’s knowledge of the moves was worlds beyond his own, and Hinata’s already questionable form was getting sloppier with every desperate attempt. But Hinata wasn’t trying to win. At least, not in the sense of taking Kageyama down.

Kageyama looked _angry_ now, and Hinata knew that he wanted him to stop, to back down. That he was tired and very aware that this was a waste of time, but also too damn stubborn to just walk out with the knowledge that he had cracked before Hinata.

 _We might have some things in common after all_ , Hinata thought, smiling viciously. Smiling like he was enjoying himself- which, in some strange way, he kind of was. He saw a brief look of panic cross Kageyama’s eyes when they took in that smile.

Hinata attacked for what felt like the hundredth time. This time, Kageyama let out a frustrated yell, throwing Hinata back with more aggression than before. Hinata slammed into the floor below, and a sharp pain shot through his left wrist when he landed on it.

“Shit, oow!” Hinata clutched his wrist, something moving when he touched it in way that made his stomach twist. Broken.

Kageyama stared at him with wide eyes, his chest still puffing in and out with heavy breaths. Hinata thought that he looked kind of terrified. “I-”

Hinata didn’t wait for whatever was about to come out of Kageyama’s mouth. He lunged, still holding onto his wrist, ready to ram into Kageyama with his head if necessary.

He never made contact. Something held him back, like a tug right in his very core keeping him from moving no matter how hard he struggled against it. After a moment of panic, Hinata looked up at Kageyama to see that he was standing in front of him, watching him with focus.

“H-hey!” Hinata said, panic increasing as he struggled against Kageyama’s will with no affect. “You can’t do that! Let me go!”

Hinata could hear the fear in his own voice. Then, as if it were never there, the tug disappeared, leaving Hinata to fall forward onto his knees.

Kageyama stared down at him. Hinata saw that his hands, now at his sides, were shaking.

“You should go see Asahi-san about your wrist,” he said, suddenly not meeting Hinata’s eyes. He turned and ran out of the practice room, leaving Hinata on his knees, still gasping.

As he got to his feet, legs shaking, Hinata couldn’t help but feel like he had just screwed up really, really badly.

_________

Hinata woke up the next day feeling roughly like he’d been run over by a truck. And then someone had dumped his body in the river, where he had promptly been run over by an ocean liner. And then the crew of the ocean liner had brought him on board, and the captain had punched him in the face.

Hinata had gone to Asahi about his wrist (resentfully, because he didn’t like doing things that Kageyama told him to do) but hadn’t said anything about the mosaic of bruises covering the hidden parts of his body, hoping that he could get away with the story that he had tripped and fallen on the cobblestones. Regardless, Asahi had looked more than a little concerned.

Hinata was walking dejectedly back from getting dinner in the cafeteria when he heard someone behind him.

“Hey!” the voice said, and Hinata swung around in surprise.

Kageyama Tobio was standing behind him. Hinata was proud to see that he looked a little worse for wear as well, a few bruises visible here and there, and a cut on the side of his lip where Hinata had head-butted him once.

“Hey,” Hinata said, confused.

Kageyama looked down at him with a strange kind of resolution in his eyes.

“Do you feel well enough to practice?” he said.

Hinata looked at Kageyama, gaping. Then he jumped so high into the air that he had to gather a cushion of wind to soften his impact when he came down.

“Yeah!”

________

“Hey! I told you that you need to have a strong stance!”

“Shut up! What’s wrong with it?”

Kageyama scowled at Hinata. He’d done that a lot in the past week. A week during which the two of them had spent every free moment, every hour after class, training. Hinata wasn’t sure what bizarre thought process had happened in Kageyama’s brain, but the guy now seemed determined to make Hinata useful during Save the Citizen.

Hinata didn’t mind the demanding hours at all. But he did think he could do without all the yelling.

“It’s all flimsy!” Kageyama barked. “A butterfly could knock you over!”

“That isn’t constructive criticism!” Hinata yelled back.

Kageyama grumbled like Hinata was the biggest burden anyone had ever been forced to deal with in the history of the universe, and took a few steps closer to him. “Like this,” he said, spreading his knees and angling his feet, “Make sure your weight is distributed equally between both of your feet. Dumbass.”

Hinata tried to mimic Kageyama, settling his sneakers into the floor, wondering if he felt more solid than before. They were outside, on one of the training spaces surrounding the track, where they could have more room to move around. It was Thursday, and late enough that the sun was starting to go down. From here, they could see the brilliantly glowing clouds stretch out around and above them, an ocean of bright orange and purple that went out and out into oblivion. It would be dark soon, and the big white lights that illuminated the field were already turned on.

“Don’t bend your back like that,” Kageyama said, for once not sounding terribly angry. He looked at Hinata with a distant, thoughtful expression, caught up in the labor of making things perfect.

Hinata let out a puff of air that ruffled his bangs. "Kageyama, Let’s spar again! C’mon Kageyama, I’m ready! Let’s go!”

Kageyama sighed. “Fine.”

T

hey got into position. This time, when Kageyama went for Hinata, Hinata was able to dodge out of the way quickly. He spun around so that Kageyama’s back was to him, and then-

He hit the floor again.

“Agh! I really thought I had it that time!”

“You let your guard down,” Kageyama said. “You forgot to watch for your feet.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hinata waved his hand in Kageyama’s direction. He sprung back to his feet. “Let’s go again!”

“It’s getting late,” Kageyama said seriously. “You should sleep before tomorrow.”

Hinata pouted. “But tomorrow’s Save the Citizen! What if we get called? Come on, don’t be a wimp, Kageyama! Let’s go!” He put his fists up like they were boxing. “I wanna win so bad! Then I can be a legend, just like my dad!”

“Is that the only reason you want to win?” Kageyama asked. Hinata twitched a little at the blunt question, not liking Kageyama’s tone of voice, like there was something wrong with his reason.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Hinata said, his mood deflating a little, “How would you feel if you had to tell your parents that you barely had any powers?”

Kageyama’s face shifted into an odd expression; it was like he was almost fighting a little smile, but it came out like a grimace.

“I don’t think they would mind.”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say, Mr. I-Can-Make-Anything-Happen-Just-With-My-Mind.”

“I can’t make _anything_

happen,” Kageyama amended reasonably in a rare moment of humility. Or, Hinata supposed, he was just stating facts. Kageyama could be pretty practical like that.

“Besides,” Kageyama started, but then stopped himself just as abruptly, his eyes widening. He looked surprised that he had spoken at all- Hinata’s interest in the conversation immediately spiked.

“Besides what?” he pestered, hoping to finally add something to his mental file about Kageyama other than ‘is really telekinetic’ and ‘is kind of a jerk’. “What were you gonna say? Come on, Kageyama, you can’t just start to say something interesting and then not say it!”

Kageyama’s eyebrow twitched, his lip curling up just a little the way it always did when Hinata was about to get it. Hinata closed his eyes, bracing himself to be punched or kicked or both. But, to his surprise, Kageyama answered him instead.

“Neither of my parents have superpowers,” he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. As if it wasn’t _impossible._

Hinata cracked his eyes open, finding himself staring up at Kageyama’s deadly serious face.

Hinata laughed.

“Wow, I never thought you’d be the type to play jokes on people, Kageyama-kun!” he said, smiling. “I mean, it wasn’t really funny or anything, but you really had me going for a second! I- ow!” Kageyama grabbed the top of Hinata’s head, his hand like a claw on top of messy orange locks. The grip was tight, and Hinata whimpered as dull pain worked its way through his skull.

“I wasn’t joking, dumbass!” Kageyama shouted. He released Hinata, almost throwing him to the ground, but Hinata caught himself.

Hinata held his head protectively. “B-but that’s impossible, though! All superpowers come from people’s parents!” It was true. No one knew how the first generation of superheroes got their powers- most suspected it was some kind of mutation, or environmental influence- but since then, the powers had always been passed down genetically from parent to child. There were plenty of cases of kids with superpowered parents not getting powers, but there were none of superpowers just appearing out of nowhere. The gene never even seemed to skip a generation, missing someone and then reappearing in their kids. As far as all the scientists knew, once the gene was gone, it was gone forever.

Hinata frowned thoughtfully at Kageyama, too curious to be affected by his growing glare.

“Are you adopted?” he finally asked.

Kageyama took a swipe at Hinata, which he avoided. “No I’m not adopted, dumbass! Stop asking me personal questions!”

Hinata continued to dance around his partner, who kept attacking him with half-hearted swings and kicks.

“What happened then?” Hinata smirked, ridiculous comic-book based possibilities running through his mind, “Did you fall into a vat of toxic waste? Were you bitten by a radioactive bug?”

That one earned Hinata a swift smack on his head, but he wasn’t deterred.

“Hmm…Oh! Were you kidnapped by evil government scientists who-”

Hinata hit the ground hard, grunting in pain. Once he regained his bearings enough to look up, he saw that Kageyama was walking away from him, already starting to descend the stairs leading back to the track.

“H-hey!” Hinata yelled, panicking. He’d just started to make progress with his partner; now it looked like he’d ruined it by being too nosey. He got to his feet.

“I’m sorry, Kageyama-kun!” Hinata went after him, reaching out to get a hold of the back of his t-shirt. “Don’t go! We still have to practice more!”

Kageyama shoved Hinata off of him. It was dark now, and the harsh white lights of the training area cast everything in a bright, ghostly glow, like moonlight unnaturally amplified. Kageyama wasn’t looking at him, but Hinata could sense the glowering look on his face without seeing it.

“We’re done,” Kageyama spat. Hinata’s heart sank, wondering if he meant for tonight, or forever.

But Hinata wasn’t ready to let his go so easily. It had only been a week of practicing with Kageyama, and he could already tell how much better he was. He was sure that he could take down an opponent of more average ability. If he let Kageyama give up on him now because of some stupid teasing, he would never forgive himself.

“No!” He shouted, not sure what else he could do. Halfway down the steps, Kageyama turned. There was a rage in his eyes that made Hinata step back, suddenly frightened. He found himself remembering that time in the gym, when he could feel Kageyama’s grip, his hold stamping out everything left of his free will.

An alarm rang. It broke the tension between the two of them, as they both looked around to see what was going on. The alarm was loud and shrill, emitting from unseen speakers around the outdoor training area. Hinata instinctively raised his hands to his ears, his heart rate picking up at the unsettling noise.

“What is that?” Hinata yelled over the din.

Kageyama’s eyes were wide. He looked scared, and that made Hinata even more anxious.

“It’s the emergency alarm!” Kageyama shouted, “It’s for when the school is under attack!”

Hinata felt a flash of cold panic. “Un- under attack? What do you mean under attack? Like, by villains? What do we do?”

“Shut up!” Kageyama grabbed his hand and started to run down the stairs, giving Hinata no choice but to run with him. “We have to get back to the main platform.”

Hinata didn’t like taking orders from Kageyama, but he couldn’t agree more with his plan. This late at night, no one but them was using the outdoor space, leaving them alone and cut off from the rest of the school. The space was completely open, nothing but black sky stretching out above them, and Hinata suddenly felt very exposed.

As they crossed the bridge onto the main platform, Hinata could see lights flashing in all of the central buildings. He picked up his pace.

There were no people in sight when they reached the central platform. The area surrounding the school had an empty, eerie feel, with the rhythmic screech of the sirens seeming even louder for the surrounding silence. Classes ended hours ago, Hinata thought in an attempt to reassure himself. But he knew that there were usually some people around this time of day; professors staying after to get work done, students using the labs or the gym space.

They were running down the stairs to the Orange District’s platform before Hinata had much time to dwell on the lack of people. But his feeling of dread increased when they got to the bottom of the stairs.

Their platform, just like the central one, was completely deserted. The entire outdoor space, from the dorms to the fountain, was vacant, without a soul in sight. Hinata’s chest filled with ice at the thought of what could have happened to his friends and classmates, with a particular bought of nausea hitting when he thought of Yachi.

He and Kageyama shared a frightened look. Without either having to say anything, they both ran towards their respective dorm buildings. Hinata found that the lights were still on in the sidekick’s lounge, open books and cans of soda still covering the sofas and coffee table.

Hinata felt like he might be sick. Not knowing what else to do, he ran back outside to where the sirens continued their omnipresent shrieking. Kageyama was there, looking pale, and Hinata knew that he’d been unable to find the other heroes.

“What do we do?” Hinata yelled, his throat constricted with panic.

Kageyama looked lost, and opened and closed his mouth as if he couldn’t figure out what to say.

“Come on, Kageyama, what do we do?”

“I- I don’t know, alright!”

They stared at each other, at a loss. He figured they were probably thinking the same thing-that they should probably hide, but if they did, they were possibly leaving their missing classmates for dead.

And then, after several moments of silently panicking, he finally spotted a familiar face.

“D-Daichi-san,” he breathed. Then he worked himself into yelling it, waving his arms around in relief.

“Daichi-san! We’re over here! We….oh.”

Daichi was walking towards them now. The expression on his face did not look like he was relieved to see them in the midst of a horrible disaster.

“Where have you two been?” He said, his voice calm in a way that made Hinata want to run back to the field.

“We, uh…we were training outside, and then we heard the sirens, and we couldn’t find anyone, and....” He looked to Kageyama, who just stood there, offering no assistance to his babbling.

Daichi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Come with me,” he grumbled.

Daichi led them to a spot in the cobblestones a few yards away from the gym, near the edge of the platform. The sirens were still going off. Hinata wondered what was going on.

Daichi bent down and grabbed onto a little metal handle in the ground, pulling up a hatch door with ease. Almost instantly, Sugawara’s head shot up out of the door.

“You found them? Ah, good. Hinata, Kageyama, come down here.”

Hinata shared a bewildered look with Kageyama. Suga didn’t sound angry, exactly, but his words were tense in a way that neither of them were very used to hearing. After a glare from Daichi, they both scrambled down into the hole, too scared to even bother fighting over who went first.

Below the hatch was a medium-sized space, cramped and industrial, with buttons lining the silver walls like in the hideout. Filling the space was everyone in the Orange District. They all watched he and Kageyama descend with expressions varying from annoyance to amusement.

“Hinata,” Suga asked him once he was down the little latter, “Why didn’t you come down here when you heard the sirens?”

Hinata blinked at his student leader in confusion. “I…I didn’t, uh….”

Suga sighed tiredly. “Hinata, we went over the protocol for drills when you first got here, remember? If we don’t report that everyone made it to the escape hatches, then the drill can’t end and we’re all stuck down here.”

 _The drill._ Hinata winced, realizing how stupid he’d been. Now that he mentioned it, he could vaguely remember something about drills from his first day.

Hinata heard the recognizable sound of Tanaka and Nishinoya’s laughter, and looked over to see that Kageyama was being scolded by Daichi. He realized with surprise that Kageyama must have forgotten the protocol too.

“It’s alright,” Suga said, “Just remember the next time, alright?”

Hinata nodded, feeling embarrassed. At least, he thought, the school wasn’t being attacked by dangerous supervillains. He turned around and found the other first years, and listed to Yachi tell him how worried she was and Tsukishima tease him until the sirens finally stopped, and they were all allowed to go back to their dorms.

As they left, Hinata tried to catch Kageyama’s eye, hoping that he could find some indication that he wasn’t still angry about their fight. But Kageyama never looked his way.

That night, Hinata lay in his bed with the sound of sirens still ringing in his ears. He thought about Kageyama, about how Save the Citizen was tomorrow, about how quickly Summer break was approaching and how strange it would feel to be back home. He thought about Kageyama growing up with no superpowered parents, and how his theory that he was the child of supervillains had probably been disproven.

And when he finally wound down enough to fall asleep, Hinata dreamed of masked men attacking the school, and that he was the one to rescue everyone.

_______

The roar of cheering students echoed in the vast space of the gym. The last two teams to play walked off of the gym floor, more than one of the people going to be attended to by healers. It had been a long, ugly match; one girl was sporting a split lip and clutching her wrist, and a boy was limping heavily over to the edge of the gym.

Hinata took a deep breath of the stuffy gymnasium air. He looked over to Kageyama, who was sitting several seats away from him, and felt his gut twist unpleasantly. They hadn’t spoken since last night.

He snapped his attention back to the floor when Coach Ukai stepped out, the bag of names dangling from his wrist menacingly. Hinata counted the amount of teams in his District, wondering what the odds were that he would be chosen out of that bag. In the end, he supposed it didn’t really matter what the odds were; either it was going to happen, or it wasn’t.

And if it did, Hinata wasn’t really sure what he would do.

“From the Red District,” Ukai called into his megaphone, “Kuroo Tetsuro and Kozume Kenma!”

Hinata perked up with interest. “It’s Kenma!” he said to Yachi, excited.

Yachi smiled, nodding, but her mouth was still pressed into a nervous line, and she nudged Hinata to pay attention.

“From the Orange District” Ukai said, “Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou!”

Hinata closed his eyes.

“Shouyou!” Yachi said, shaking him a little, “It’s you!”

Hinata opened his eyes to see his whole District looking at him, some with reassuring smiles, others with poorly concealed concern. Hinata stood on shaking legs. His friends shouted words of encouragement as he left his seat.

He met Kageyama on the gym floor when they got into positions. Hinata let out a strangled laugh when he realized that they were going to be the heroes. Everything just as he’d imagined it would be.

Kageyama must have heard the slightly hysterical sound. “You’ll be fine,” he said, not looking at Hinata. “Just-”

“Stay out of your way,” Hinata cut him off, “I know.”

Kageyama looked down at him from the corner of his eye, his expression unreadable.

“Just do what we practiced.”

Hinata looked up in surprise, but Ukai’s shout to get ready took his attention away from Kageyama.

“Get in your positions,” he called. Hinata’s entire body was tense with nerves and anticipation. He could feel the eyes of every student at Sora. He caught Kenma’s eye, and his friend smiled at him.

The whistle blew.

Hinata was still looking at Kenma, who vanished before his eyes at the sound of the whistle. Next to him, Kageyama turned his attention to the dummy, ready to pull it down with his mind.

Just then, Hinata saw a flash of catlike movement behind his partner. “Kageyama, look out!”

But it was too late; Kuroo Tetsuro tackled Kageyama to the ground with a powerful, precise kind of strength. Kageyama looked like he didn’t stand a chance, like Kuroo could snap him like a twig without even thinking, but Hinata knew better. He waited for the shift, for Kageyama to send Kuroo flying across the gym, insuring their victory.

But it never came. Kuroo struggled against Kageyama’s control, but he was still struggling, enough to distract Kageyama from brining the dummy down. Hinata wondered if Kageyama couldn't do more than one thing at a time with his powers. He wondered why, if that was true, Kageyama didn’t just hurl Kuroo across the gymnasium so he wouldn’t have to deal with him.

Hinata thought back to when Kageyama had used his powers on him, baffled. He could remember all too clearly how impossible it was to even try to escape Kageyama’s grip, how absolute his control had been over Hinata’s will. Then, Hinata remembered the last time Kageyama had played this game, and he realized what he should’ve understood back then.

Kageyama was holding back. Purposefully.

Once he came to this conclusion, Hinata didn’t hesitate. His nerves cleared with the sudden realization that Kageyama needed him, that his partner was, for whatever reason, incapable of using the full extent of his abilities. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

Hinata ran over to the pit, looking up at the still dangling dummy. It had been steadily descending since the beginning of the match; if Hinata could just give himself a little lift, then he could probably get high enough to free the dummy from the rope and bring it down to safety.

Hinata looked at the churning pit of spikes, feeling a lump growing in his throat. He braced himself, and-

He was grabbed, someone holding him back from taking a leap over the pit. When he turned around and saw no one, he knew that it was Kenma who was holding him back, just like Kuroo was still doing to Kageyama. He tried to remember his stance, the moves that he’d practiced with Kageyama, but it was nearly impossible when he couldn’t even see his opponent. Kenma took him down, not nearly as aggressively as Kageyama, but still effectively.

Hinata’s body moved on instinct, the result of hours of practicing. He swung out his legs, just as Kageyama had done to him. Kenma didn’t have time to move somewhere new, and Hinata’s legs made contact with Kenma’s, bringing him down to the hard floor.

Kenma materialized, looking stunned. Hinata got up quickly, ready to keep fighting, but to his surprise Kenma only smiled softly up at him. He raised his hands up in defeat.

“Hinata!” Hinata whirled around at the sound of his name, and saw Kageyama still fighting with Kuroo, distress clear in his eyes. Hinata looked back to the dummy, which by now was getting frighteningly close to the spikes.

Hinata didn’t think. He just jumped.

His eyes closed, Hinata tried to picture the wind again, to allow it to come up and carry him. He felt a little lift, enough for him to grab hold of the dummy, and then-

And then Hinata was flying.

He felt the air surrounding him, different than it had ever felt before, more solid. Elation swept through him, and he forgot where he was, only enjoying the feeling of the air rushing past him.

He opened his eyes just in time to see the gymnasium wall rushing towards him.

CRASH.

Pain replaced the feeling of weightless elation from before. Hinata cracked open his eyes, not wanting to move any other part of his body because of how much everything hurt. One thing Hinata did notice was that he was clutching the dummy tightly in his arms.

They’d won.

“Is someone getting a healer?” Someone shouted, alerting Hinata to his surroundings. He’d landed on the top of the bleachers after crashing into the wall. Concerned-looking students surrounded him, and the gym was filled with noise and excitement.

 _Because of me_ , Hinata thought, smiling despite the pain, _Because I flew._

It felt like time was moving a little oddly for Hinata, with some patches slipping away into nothing, everything happening fluidly and too fast, like sand running through his fingers. Somewhere in his addled (and still very happy) mind, he realized that he was probably hurt pretty seriously. Before he knew it, warm hands were gingerly propping him into a sitting position. He groaned.

“Where does it hurt?” A woman’s voice asked.

Hinata struggled to focus on the question. “Uh…everywhere? ‘Specially my head though….”

The hands moved to Hinata’s skull, and the throbbing pressure there weakened considerably. He opened his eyes, thoughts clearing, to see that everyone in the bleachers where he’d landed were staring at him. He’d crashed into the wall head-first, his limbs awkwardly sprawled out over the top row of bleachers. Hinata realized with a little guilt that the people sitting there had probably had to jump out of the way to avoid him.

The healer crouched in front of him and went to work on his other injuries. As his various pains began to disappear, Hinata’s smile grew wider and wider.

When the healer was done, she smiled at Hinata warmly, despite looking a bit addled; it probably was a bit of a shock to see a first year student go flying straight into the gymnasium wall.

“Out of my way, please,” came a familiar voice. Coach Ukai was shoving his way through the crowds of bystanders, stomping up the steps of the bleachers with purpose. Takeda trailed behind him looking frantic, and Kageyama followed, looking very much like he’d been brought up with them against his will.

Ukai sat on the bleachers next to Hinata. “How do you feel?” he asked.

“

I feel fine, Coach!” Hinata chirped. And he did- despite some lingering discomfort, he felt incredible, like he could take on any villain, or run a thousand miles.

The healer looked at him a little skeptically. “I could heal all of his broken bones and bruising, but he’ll probably be sore for at least a day or two. And concussions are difficult to fully heal without accidentally causing damage to the brain, so he should probably take it easy for the next week.”

Hinata groaned. Ukai just continued to look at him thoughtfully.

“

Kageyama says that you did that on your own,” he said, “Right, Kageyama-san?”

“Yes coach,” Kageyama said, and Hinata’s eyes snapped up to where his partner was standing, watching him with his serious eyes. “I only had Kuroo off of me for a second, so I could only give him a little push.”

Hinata smiled at Kageyama so wide that he looked away, as if protecting himself from the glare of the sun.

“It was me, Ukai-san,” Hinata said, turning back to face the coach. “I could feel it! If you want, I know I could do it again-”

Takeda stopped him, still looking immensely flustered. “I don’t think that’s a good idea for now, Hinata. You should rest until break, and then next semester you can give it another try, alright?”

Hinata was about to argue, but Ukai gave him a level glare.

“He’s right. You stay put until break, got it? And then we can start to worry about what to do with you.”

_What to do with you._

Ukai said it like he was trying to figure out where to dump Hinata’s body, but Hinata could see the subtle smirk on his coach’s face.

Hinata smiled. His face was starting to hurt from all of the smiling.

“Can you stand?” The healer asked, “I want to get you to the infirmary to get everything double-checked, and then you should go back to your room and rest.”

Hinata nodded, bracing himself on the bleachers as he stood. He wobbled a little, some dizziness still apparently affecting him from how hard he’d hit his head. Ukai and the healer, on either side of him, reached out and helped him stand.

Almost everyone in the gym watched Hinata as he walked down the steps and onto the floor. Some cheered when they saw that he was on his feet, and he shyly enjoyed the attention, wondering if he should wave or something.

“Shouyou!” Hinata turned around to see Yachi running towards him, nearly all of his district in her wake. She hugged him tightly.

“Are you alright? That looked so bad, Shouyou, you have no idea!” Yachi pulled away, and Hinata could see tears in her eyes. “But you did it! I’m so happy for you!”

Hinata beamed at her, lost for words. Yachi was the only one there who really understood what this meant to him. He felt tears starting to run down his own face.

Tanaka and Nishinoya cheered his name, and Sugawara tried to calm them down, but kept giving Hinata proud, sentimental looks. Kenma and Kuroo came to see if he was alright (with Kuroo pausing to gently berate Kenma for being lazy at the end of the game). Hinata felt lighter than air, overwhelmed by all the positive attention.

Eventually Takeda interjected. “Hinata has to go to the infirmary now,” he said gently, “But you can all congratulate him later!”

Hinata waved goodbye to his friends as he was led out of the gym, feeling like he was in a dream. Like a weight he hadn’t known about had been taken from him, allowing him to float above the clouds.

Hinata smiled to himself, this time a smile that was soft and content.

He had a feeling he knew who to thank for his newfound ability.

________

Unfortunately, the doctors at the infirmary all agreed that Hinata should absolutely not do anything strenuous for the entire week leading up until break. Hinata had been a little surprised to learn that typical healing powers couldn’t actually fix any injury. He’d asked Asahi later that week, and the third year explained that while surface injuries like cuts and bruises were easy to heal, internal injuries like broken bones took a little more effort, especially when the breaks weren’t clean. When the damage was somewhere delicate and complicated, like in your brain or your organs, then it could be nearly impossible to heal without causing some other accidental damage.

This meant that Hinata was diagnosed with a concussion and made to stay in bed for the whole weekend, and then to ‘take it easy’ for the remaining week (which basically meant that he couldn’t do anything he wanted to do, but that he still had to go to all of his classes except for the fun ones). Even with everyone stopping by to talk to Hinata and cheer him up, the lack of activity felt like torture.

Hinata didn’t see much of Kageyama that week. Without Physical Conditioning every morning, Combat Training, or practicing outside of classes, there weren’t many opportunities for their paths to cross.This made Hinata a little nervous, still not entirely sure where he stood with his partner.

On the last day of the semester there was always a party at the hideout to celebrate and after a week of being left out of things, Hinata refused to miss it. Suga and Daichi watched over him, making sure that he sat down and didn’t so anything strenuous, but it was still a lot of fun. He talked and played games with his friends, many of them still occasionally recounting the game of Save the Citizen that had garnered rapid school-wide fame among both students and faculty. The game where a first-year sidekick who had only ever been able to float suddenly took flight.

The next day, Hinata got himself packed and ready. When talking to his friends, he complained loudly about having to leave the excitement of Sora, but in private, he was happy that he would get to see his family soon. He hadn’t called his mother and Natsu to tell them about his powers, because he wanted to see the looks on their faces when he did.

Hinata was walking with Yachi to the train platform when he spotted Kageyama walking towards the Hero dorms.

“I’ll be right back!” he told Yachi, setting his bags on the floor and jogging over to Kageyama.

“Hey!”

Kageyama looked at him, surprised. “Uh…hey.”

The atmosphere between them was uncomfortable. Apparently Kageyama wasn’t really sure where they stood, either.

“So, are you going home today?” Hinata asked. 

“Tomorrow.”

Hinata nodded. “Okay. Well, I’m leaving now, so. Have a good break, Kageyama-kun!”

“Uh, sure. You too.” Kageyama turned away, a little too fast.

Hinata felt like he couldn’t just let him go. Not without saying anything.

“Kageyama-kun!”

Kageyama turned around. He looked a little annoyed, but Hinata was starting to suspect that maybe his face just looked like that, sometimes.

“Um,” Hinata looked down at his feet for a second, thinking. Then he looked back up at Kageyama.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” he said. He felt a sense of calm wash over him as he realized that this was exactly what he needed to say.

Kageyama’s eyes remained hard, black and glinting like pieces of charcoal. “For what? Like I said, I only gave you a push. You did the rest yourself.”

“Yeah, but….” Hinata thought, trying to piece together all of the thoughts he’d been working on for the past week.

“Do you know how my dad died, Kageyama?”

The question made Kageyama’s eyebrows raise in surprise. When it sank in, he looked down at his feet.

“Of course I do,” he grumbled, “Everyone knows that.”

This wasn’t news to Hinata; really, there was no reason for him even ask. But he had a point to make.

“He died in the air,” Hinata said, feeling his heart speed up just thinking about that day, “He was shot out of the air, and he fell.” He swallowed. “Our mom tried to keep everything away from us, but I ended up seeing this bit on the news, where they showed his picture. And then they bought his cape to our house, and it was all bloody and ruined.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Kageyama’s hands were clenched into fists at his sides, like Hinata’s words were causing him physical pain.

“Because,” Hinata said, “I think that I already could fly, that I’ve been able to for a long time. I think that…I think that I was scared. I think I was really really scared, and I didn’t even know it.” His eyes snapped up to meet Kageyama’s and he grinned. “But you helped me! So just…thanks. Thanks a lot, Kageyama.”

Kageyama seemed stunned beyond all capacity for speech. Hinata decided to take pity on him.

“Bye, Kageyama!” he said, turning away, “I’ll see you next semester!”

He left Kageyama gaping on the cobblestones, running over to meet Yachi and start making the journey home.

B

efore the train pulled out of the station, Hinata took one last look at his beautiful school. Somehow, he knew that next semester, everything was going to be different.

And he was ready for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading as always!!
> 
> My Haikyuu tumblr is [here](http://hayshq.tumblr.com/). I take requests for short fics there~


	5. Not Afraid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I don't have much to say about this chapter, except, of course, thank you for reading!! And thank you so much to everyone who's left comments and kudos, I appreciate them so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Hinata took a deep breath. Or, he tried, but ended up with something short and stuttering anyway, the breath catching in his throat with trembling nerves. It was okay, though. Hinata knew that he would probably not be calm for this- but this time, he also knew that he would be able to do what he needed to.

Well…he was like, ninety percent sure, anyway. But that much was good enough to get him here, right?

“Okay, Hinata,” Coach Ukai said. His face was neutral, but Hinata could see the interest in his eyes. This moment had been a long time coming- more than a month, in fact. Hinata hadn’t been able to relax much over his summer vacation.

He stood on the gymnasium floor, fists clenched and spine slightly bent over with tension, every bone shaking just a little bit. The whole room glared at him; the floor’s polished yellow wood reflecting the light huge ceiling lamps made Hinata feel like he was standing in the center of the sun. Well, that, and the fact that he felt like it was about a hundred thousand degrees in the gymnasium. And that he was the center of everything.

Hinata’s eyes flicked over to where the dean was standing (the freaking dean, Hinata thought, his heart accelerating like he had his foot slammed on the gas pedal) regarding him with a thoughtful scowl.

Hinata knew that he had to get himself together sometime in the next few seconds. He shifted his feet on the hardwood floor, correcting his stance as if getting ready for a fight. He imagined Kageyama barking orders- _A butterfly could knock you over, dumbass!_

Hinata smiled a little, before reminding himself that Kageyama wasn’t there. He would be getting no extra push; it was up to him to show everyone that he was good enough to be on the Hero track. That he was _good enough_ , all on his own.

The silence of the huge space pressed on Hinata’s ears, and he closed his eyes to block out the room’s tension. He remembered the feeling from a month ago, and from the few times he’d managed to get out of his mother’s sight for long enough to practice over the holiday, and held onto it as tightly as he could. Muscle memory- that was the way Hinata learned best, and so he cleared everything from his head, until there was nothing there but clouds and fresh blue sky.

And then, Hinata jumped. 

___

“That’s amazing, Hinata!” 

Hinata beamed as Sugawara ruffled his hair enthusiastically.

“Thanks, Suga-san!” he said, bouncing up and down just like he’d been doing ever since his private meeting with the dean. It was late afternoon, and all of the sidekicks had been waiting in the lounge to hear how Hinata’s evaluation had gone.

“I am happy to hear that you’ll be staying with us a little longer, though,” Suga added.

Hinata nodded, secretly happy about this as well. After deliberating with Hinata’s head teachers, the dean had decided to keep Hinata in the Sidekick dorms and in Sidekick classes, just to make sure that he was progressing, and to avoid disrupting his academic life. Many of the classes taken in the first year were the same for Sidekicks and Heroes anyway, so he wouldn’t be falling too far behind.

But, if things continued to move in the direction they’d suddenly, miraculously taken, Hinata would be placed into the Hero track come next year. He could feel the happiness inside of him since he’d gotten this news, bright and a little nervous, like popping candy that was still popping away inside of his stomach. Hinata’s dreams were coming true, after he’d almost started to think (just a little, and only in the back of his mind) that they never would. He felt like a firework that just kept exploding.

The sight of tears pulled Hinata out of his blissful dreaming.

“Yachi! Why are you crying?”

Yachi sniffed, trying unsuccessfully to wipe her tears as fast as they were falling. “I- I’m just so happy for you, Shouyou!” she said. Hinata frowned.

He took Yachi’s hand. “Yachi and me are gonna go get some lunch!” he said brightly, “We’ll see you guys later!”

Everyone wished them goodbye. Yachi looked at Hinata, confused.

“But Shouyou, I’m not really-”

“Let’s go!” Hinata pulled her along until they were outside. It was a nice day, only a few clouds passing over, and a gentle breeze cooling the air.

“I already ate,” Yachi said. But she was still crying, and Hinata could tell that she knew he wasn’t actually planning to get lunch with her.

“Hitoka…” he started, reaching out to her. She pulled away, turning to look away from Hinata.

“I’m sorry!” she cried, “I _am_ happy for you, I promise!” She gave herself a little punch to the head, her closed fist making contact with her temple. Hinata hated it when she did that. “Augh! This is all you’ve ever wanted, and I can’t stop crying about it! I’m a terrible friend!”

Hinata walked up to Yachi, taking her hand. She turned back to face him with watery eyes.

“You’re not a bad friend,” Hinata said gently, “I’m sad that we won’t be together too, you know.”

Yachi wiped her eyes with her free hand. “You are?”

Hinata smiled, “Of course I am! I love being in the dorms with you and having classes with you and stuff. You’re my best friend!”

Yachi smiled back a little, tears still leaking from her eyes.

“And anyway,” Hinata went on, dropping his friend’s hand in favor of flailing his arms around, “We’ll still see each other all the time! It’ll be just like always, and you’ll do super good in everything, and be the best sidekick ever, and we’ll still study together and eat together and hang out together and go to parties together and go on adventures even when you don’t want to and-”

Yachi gave Hinata a light little push to the shoulder to stop him, laughing. After they both had stopped giggling, she straightened up and pressed her palms to her cheeks. “You’re right,” she said firmly, “And you’re going to be a great Hero, Hinata!”

Hinata beamed. After that, they went down to the garden to hang out, and Hinata thought about how he couldn’t be happier to be back.

____

It was the Saturday before the second semester of classes would start. Some students hadn’t moved back in yet, but most were already getting settled, and a party was planned to celebrate their last night of freedom before they were all weighed down by schoolwork yet again.

Hinata made his way through the loud clusters of people, stopping to chat with his friends as he went, Yachi sticking by his side the entire time. These gatherings were quickly becoming one of Hinata’s favorite things; for him, having almost everyone he knew all together where he could jump between them like rocks on a creek was the perfect environment. He knew it could be a little overwhelming for some of his quieter friends, but the atmosphere in the clubhouse was generally friendly, all rivalries between districts forgotten, and everyone was more or less comfortable there.

Despite how much Hinata loved chatting with everyone, he always found his way over to the volleyball net (Hinata still called it that, no matter how many times people told him that it was a game completely invented by superhero kids). He’d already jumped in a few times, with the encouragement of his friends, and was thrilled to be able to play the game and use all of his jumping abilities (in high school, he always had to hold back so that no one would know about his powers).

Kageyama didn’t always come to the parties, but when he did, he mostly just sat and watched everyone play.

“Why don’t you join in?” Hinata asked, coming to stand by Kageyama’s shoulder.

Kageyama turned to look at him, as startled to be spoken to as if he’d thought he was invisible to everyone in the room. He stared at Hinata for an instant, before grumbling and turning back to watch the game.

“You always watch,” Hinata persisted, shouting a little over the music and chatter, “Why don’t you play? I bet you’d be really good.”

Hinata laughed at the comparison, and Kageyama glared.

“Come on,” Hinata grabbed Kageyama’s hand, feeling bold, “We can go together! It’ll be fun, just like Save the Citizen!”

Kageyama’s eyes went wide at the physical contact. He jerked his hand out of Hinata’s. “Get off me!”

Hinata pouted, “Hey, what’s your proble- hey! Kageyama, come back!”

Hinata huffed in frustration before darting after him through the crowd.

“Hinata!” Yachi called after him on his way out. She was sitting on the edge of the couch with some of their other friends, who were all watching him with concern. “What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing!” he yelled back at her, still shoving his way through the crowds, “I’ll be back soon!”

Hinata got to the door that Kageyama had just left through, and stepped out, the sounds of music and happy students disappearing as he closed the door behind him.

He finally caught sight of Kageyama when he stepped out into the warm night air. Hinata’s partner wasn’t running anymore- in fact, he was hardly even walking, just shuffling his feet on the pavement, occasionally squinting up like he was looking at the stars. Evidently he hadn’t expected Hinata to follow him out.

“Uh, Kageyama?” Hinata tried to sound gentle, not wanting to send his partner running again.

He was relieved when Kageyama didn’t move from where he stood on the street, only looking to see Hinata standing several feet away from him with confusion in his eyes.

“What do you want?” Kageyama said. He was quiet, probably afraid of waking Ukai senior since they were still in close vicinity of his house, but he still somehow managed to sound like he was shouting. Whispers coming out like whips, hissing at Hinata and making him sting.

“I don’t know,” Hinata said, not as quietly. It was true. Why had he even followed Kageyama out here? Did he really care that much that they played a silly game together? That they did anything together outside of training?

“We’re still partners.” Hinata figured Kageyama had been informed of this by now, but he felt like it needed saying anyway. He felt like he was losing all of the progress they’d made. He just wanted to understand why.

Kageyama turned away again. “Don’t remind me.

Hinata breathed deeply, his mouth digging itself into a deep frown, angry tears prickling behind his eyes.

“I thought we were okay!” Hinata yelled. He winced when he remembered Ukai, and took a few steps forward, both closing the distance between himself and Kageyama and putting a little more between him and the house. “I thought you realized that we could do better if we worked together!”

Kageyama didn’t say anything, but he didn’t make any move to leave either. He just squinted back up at the silver stars, deep creases etched into his young face.

He’s impossible to understand, Hinata thought, wishing for the first and last time in his life that he’d been gifted Oikawa Tooru’s mind-reading powers. If Kageyama would just communicate with him like a normal person, then none of this would be so hard.

“I even have my powers now!” Hinata pressed on, desperate, “I’m going to be a Hero like you next year, and you still think you’re too good to work with me? What the hell is your problem, you- you arrogant- augh!”

Hinata gave up on trying to find a good enough insult. He sat down hard on the pavement with a huff.

Kageyama watched Hinata out of the corner of his eye. “I just don’t want a partner, alright? It’s nothing…personal.”

“Yeah, well, you always make it sound pretty freaking personal.”

“It isn’t.”

Hinata pushed around a bit of loose gravel with his foot, pouting, “You need me, though. You keep saying that you don’t, but you would have lost if I hadn’t been there. Because you won’t use your powers all the way for some stupid reason.”

It was silent after that. After a moment, Hinata looked up at Kageyama, and saw that his partner was looking down on him in complete shock, eyes blown round and wide like full balloons. Hinata almost laughed.

“I’m not stupid,” Hinata said, “I know what you can do. So why don’t you do it, Kageyama? Why not?”

Kageyama looked thoughtful for a moment, and Hinata waited excitedly, feeling like he was finally about to crack his partner’s mysterious code.

“I’m…” Kageyama started. Hinata stared up at him, clinging to his every word.

“I’m not talking about this with you.” Kageyama turned to leave.

Without thinking, Hinata sprung up from his spot on the road, squatting like a frog and using his leg muscles to propel himself into the air. He vaulted over Kageyama’s head with ease, turning in the air above his head so that he landed facing him.

His landing was admittedly a little shaky, but Hinata still felt like the move was impressively cool. He wished someone other than Kageyama had been around to see it.

Kageyama stared at him with that same, shocked expression. “You’re not supposed to-”

Tell me why you hold back, Kageyama!” Hinata held his ground.

“No.” Kageyama shoved passed him, but Hinata reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Let go of me!”

They wrestled for a little while, a tactless scrambling of limbs and shouts and growling (with Hinata providing most of the shouts, and Kageyama most of the growling). Kageyama eventually got fed up and just carried Hinata over to the grass on the side of the street, prying his grip away with difficulty before dumping him roughly onto the curb.

Hinata sprung up, ready to keep fighting, but Kageyama cut him off.

“It’s just a stupid game,” he growled, still breathing heavily from their fight, “I don’t want to hurt anyone, alright?”

Hinata tilted his head to the side, curious. “But...people get hurt all the time in Save the Citizen, right? That’s why we have healers. And besides, you hurt me all the time! You broke my wrist.” Hinata frowned at the memory. So did Kageyama.

“Hmmph,” Kageyama turned away, arms crossed. Petulant again.

“That isn’t it,” Hinata thought out loud, “It doesn’t make sense.”

Kageyama continued to look the other way. Not for the first time, Hinata remembered their placement, and how Tsukishima’s taunting had lashed out across the room like fire.

_Freak._

“Do you…” Hinata almost didn’t finish his thought, because it didn’t seem possible. But, really, neither did Kageyama holding back for any reason, if he went by what he knew about him already.  
Hinata was realizing that there were probably just a lot of things he didn’t know about Kageyama.

Hinata gathered his courage, “Is it because you don’t want people to be afraid of you?”

Kageyama’s hands clenched at his sides. That was it, then.

“But you used your powers on me,” Hinata said, a question. And you don’t do much to make yourself approachable, do you?

Kageyama’s eyes were closed. “You make me angry,” he ground out, the words all strained and rough around the edges. Hinata had never heard him sound like that.

A sudden, ugly thought shot through Hinata’s mind.

“Have…have other people made you angry, Kageyama-kun? Like…people without powers?”

Kageyama didn’t say anything. He didn’t move.

“Hey,” Hinata put a hand on his arm, nervous. “You know we’re all freaks here, right? We could all probably scare normal people. Even Suga-san and Asahi-san.”

“It isn’t the same.”

Really, this guy. Hinata suddenly snorted, and Kageyama’s eyes snapped wide open, like a snake that Hinata had just stepped on.

“You’re so full of yourself,” Hinata said frankly.

“What?”

Hinata shook his head, “You’re just a kid with powers like all the rest of us, okay? Quit acting like you’re some unprecedented phenomenon, it’s annoying.”

Hinata flashed Kageyama his sunniest smile, “You don’t scare me one bit, Kageyama-kun.”

Kageyama gaped at Hinata, his jaw succumbing to gravity and causing his mouth to form a perfect ‘o’.

Before Hinata could laugh at him anymore, the sound of a door creaking open had them both turning back towards the house in alarm. Hinata was relieved to see that it was only Suga peeking out of the front door.

“Is everything okay out here?” he whispered. Hinata smiled reassuringly.

“It’s fine! I was just heading back inside.”

Suga looked a little skeptical, probably because Kageyama was still staring at Hinata like he’d just murdered a kitten in front of him or something, but he nodded and went back in.

“I’m gonna go back to the party,” Hinata said, “You should come too!”

Kageyama didn’t follow Hinata back to the party, but Hinata wasn’t really expecting him to. All that mattered was the look on Kageyama’s face, the shock mixed with something else that made Hinata feel like there was hope for them, probably.

When Hinata got back into the Hideout, a new game was just starting, and Hinata jumped right in, wondering in the back of his mind how he could convince Kageyama to play with him next time.

_____

Kageyama attacked, his forehead scrunched together, wrinkling the bridge of his nose in kind of a funny way. Hinata found himself trying to get Kageyama to make that face as much as he could, just because he liked seeing it. Probably because it was an indication that Kageyama was annoyed, but not furious: the ultimate goal of any teasing.

They were practicing for the first round of Save the Citizen of the semester in one of the outdoor training spaces. Hinata hovered in the air, on guard. Every time Kageyama lunged, Hinata shot away like a remote control helicopter, laughing.

“Can’t catch me!” he sang. Kageyama growled.

“If I was using my powers, you’d be dead by now,” he said, trying again to catch Hinata with his bare hands. They were supposedly training Hinata’s agility and control in the air (which could still be somewhat lacking, if he was being honest) but at this point he was just having fun messing with his partner.

Hinata dodged again, this time floating up high enough that he was hovering directly over Kageyama’s head, legs crossed like he was sitting, just out of Kageyama’s reach.

“You won’t though!” He laughed, starting to make irritating little circles around Kageyama’s head, “Because you’re too chicken, Kageyama-kun!”

But as soon as the words left Hinata’s mouth, he felt a strong tug on his body, like gravity had just increased a hundred times and pulled him to the ground. He hit the turf of the round little training platform hard, but not quite hard enough to really hurt.

“Uuugh....” Hinata groaned, reorienting himself. Then his head snapped up to look at Kageyama in disbelief.

Kageyama looked down at him apprehensively, but Hinata only grinned.

“You’ll pay for that, Kageyama-kun!” Hinata sprung up from the ground, and attacked Kageyama with a barrage of quick punches. Kageyama deflected them easily, which was annoying, but Hinata thought that he could catch the tiniest glimpse of a smile on his partner’s face, which wasn’t annoying at all.

In fact, it made Hinata’s chest swell with warmth.

“This is stupid,” Kageyama said when they were through tussling. He tossed sweaty hair out of his eyes, “If all we’re gonna practice is your flying, we should go over to the flying net.”

“Really?” Hinata bounced up and down in excitement. He’d been itching to use the net ever since he’d gotten back to school, but it seemed like Kageyama wouldn’t want to do something that would only benefit Hinata if they were training together.

Kageyama smirked, in the mean way this time, the way Hinata was more familiar with. “Well, you’re the only one who needs training, because you suck so much.”

“Hey!” Hinata punched Kageyama again. He thought that it was kind of nice to have someone close that could roughhouse with a little (or a lot). Yachi wasn’t the type for it, and it didn’t really feel right with any of his friends in his district, either. Maybe Tanaka and Noya, sometimes, but they never gave him a good enough reason. Kageyama was perfect for that kind of stuff- tough enough to rough up, but irritable enough to be fun to mess with.

Hinata called for a race to the flying net, surprised when Kageyama actually ran after him. He remembered that rainy day all those months ago, when he’d provoked Kageyama on the tack during gym, and how he’d told Yachi after that he thought Kageyama was out to get him. He laughed at the memory. Really, looking back on it, he was the one who’d had it out for Kageyama.

They were both panting by the time they reached the net. It stretched out into the blue sky beyond the training platform, six huge safety nets connected to create a cube in the air where students with the power of flight could train without fear of plummeting to the earth.

As good as not plummeting to the earth sounded to Hinata, he couldn’t bring himself to like the way the space seemed to cage people in, cutting them off from the exhilaration of the open sky all around them. So far, he hadn’t had any chance to feel what that was like, and he wanted it more than anything.

“Are you getting in or not?” Kageyama barked, all playfulness gone from his anger. Hinata scowled back at him.

“You’re the one who offered to come here!” he retorted, “If you want to leave, you can.”

Kageyama’s surly expression didn’t change. “I need to be here to make sure you don’t kill yourself.”

Hinata sighed. He knew that it was school policy to always have a buddy when using the net (that was a lecture he actually had managed to catch some pieces of) but didn’t really see why it was necessary. After all, if he dropped out of the air for some reason, the net would easily catch him.

Not wanting to listen to any more of Kageyama’s impatient grumbling, Hinata unzipped the entrance to the net, a small opening like the kind you’d find on camping tents. At first, he just floated in place, gripping the side of the net and looking down at the hundreds of feet that were now between himself and the ground. It was the highest he’d ever been in his life without anything beneath him, and even the security of the net below couldn’t completely take away the swoop in his gut.

Kageyama zipped the entrance up behind him. “I’ll be here if your shitty powers give out on you,” he said. Hinata stuck his tongue out at him, but was secretly reassured by Kageyama’s promise. He knew that his partner could catch him even if the net didn’t, and it was good to have him there even if he didn’t know how far his trust in Kageyama extended quite yet.

Hinata closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. Then he let go of his hold on the strong rope of the net, and began drifting.

“Ha,” he let out a sound of breathless wonder. Underneath him, a thin layer of clouds obscured the view, the green landscape of the surface dotted with tiny houses just visible. He felt another brief lurch in his stomach as he looked down at his feet and realized that nothing was holding him, but continued to gather the air underneath himself until it felt almost as certain and solid as ground under his feet.

Hinata suddenly remembered that Kageyama was still there, watching him, and looked over to see what he was doing. Kageyama was standing a few feet from the edge, his hands clenched at his sides. He watched Hinata with and indiscernible expression.

“Well, are you going to practice, or what?” Kageyama asked, shattering Hinata’s pleasant moment.

Hinata glared at him, “Give me a minute to get used to it!”

Taking one last look at the ground below, Hinata resolved to focus on what was in front of him. The net was supplied with a few hoops of different sizes that hung from the top portion, providing the obstacles that Hinata would use to develop control over his movements in the air.

The problem was, Hinata couldn’t even seem to get himself to any of the hoops, never mind through them.

“What are you doing?” Kageyama shouted from the ledge as Hinata struggled to propel himself in the right direction. Every time, he’d end up lurching to the wrong side, left when he wanted right, up when he wanted to go down.

It was extremely frustrating, and Hinata really wished that Kageyama would just shut up for five seconds.

“I’m working on it!” Hinata snapped, just as he did an unintended pirouette in the air. The world spun around him, and he let out a sound of frustration.

“What’s wrong?” Kageyama stepped closer to the net, arms crossed, “You were flying around just fine a few minutes ago.”

Hinata shook his head, “This is, I dunno, different somehow. On the ground I have something solid to push off of, so it’s easier to steer.”

Kageyama was quiet, finally, and Hinata went back to focusing on the task at hand. The largest hoop was a few feet in front of him, and a little bit higher. He willed himself to float towards it. The air currents out here were complicated, all tangled and stubbornly set on their paths, but Hinata tried to sooth them into pushing him forward.

“Hey, it’s working!” Hinata shouted as he started to move in the right direction, “Look, Kageyama, I’m- aah!”

Hinata’s stomach dropped. The excited lapse in concentration had caused him to lose his hold on the air, and he shot sharply downwards with a cry. Somewhere in his mind, Hinata knew that he couldn’t fall, but in that second the knowledge didn’t make the sudden plummet any less terrifying.

But Hinata’s descent was stopped before the net could even catch him. Startled, he found himself frozen in mid-air, a foreign tug keeping him from falling any further.

Once he’d gotten over his shock enough to realize what was happening, Hinata looked up at Kageyama with an accusatory expression.  
“Hey! Why’d you do that?”

Kageyama stared at him blankly, looking like he wasn’t sure why he’d done it, either. Then he huffed, and Hinata felt the force holding him up vanish, leaving him to right himself on his own.

“You fell,” Kageyama snapped, not looking at Hinata.

Hinata put his hands on his hips, “The net would’ve caught me!”

Kageyama threw his hands in the air in rage. “Whatever! I was just trying to help!”

“I need to learn how to do it myself!”

Kageyama glared in a way that made Hinata wonder if he was trying to make him spontaneously combust, even when just a minute ago he’d been trying to help him. Hinata wondered if he should have embraced his effort, but couldn’t get passed the feeling that he was being babied. He’d waited too long to be allowed on his own in the air to be thwarted by Kageyama’s weird protective reflexes.

Kageyama growled, “Fine. I’ll just go then.”

“No! You need to stay, or else I can’t practice! Just…just sit there and don’t do anything.”

The fury in Kageyama’s eyes could have rivaled a hungry lion who’d been put in a cage and told ‘just sit there and don’t do anything’, but to Hinata’s enormous surprise, he listened. Still scowling, Kageyama dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged and watching Hinata intently.

Hinata stifled a laugh.

“Thanks Kagayama-kun!” he chirped, before heading off to try and get through that first hoop, as many times as it would take.

He and Kageyama were there until sundown.

________

That Thursday, Hinata badgered Kageyama into actually sitting next to him during Save the Citizen.

“Every other team sits together,” he reasoned, “If we keep up like this, someone will notice, and we’ll probably get a lecture about getting along or something.”

Really, Hinata was just tired of watching Kageyama sit by himself and scowl. It was annoying, and Hinata was happy when Kageyama agreed to sit with him. He was even more pleased when, after a while, Kageyama started to occasionally make comments about what was happening on the gym floor. Hinata couldn’t tell if these comments were directed at him, but he replied to them anyway. It almost felt like they were casually talking.

On his other side, Yachi gave him encouraging smiles whenever he and Kageyama shared a few words. But when it was time for the team from the Orange district to be chosen, she balled her hands into tight fists, nervous. She and Kiyoyo had yet to be called, and the odds of their names being drawn increased with every passing week.

Yachi visibly relaxed when Daichi and Suga were called, and Hinata perked up in excitement to finally see his student leaders work together. He became even more interested when Oikawa and his hero were called to be their competition. Kageyama, on the other hand, became rigid at the sound of Oikawa’s name, a fact that didn’t escape Hinata’s notice.

It was an interesting match, with the two heroes (Daichi and Oikawa’s partner Iwaizumi) both having powers pertaining to strength, and Sugawara and Oikawa both having powers more on the mental side. It seemed like they were pretty equally matched.

Except, when the whistle blew, it became clear very quickly that the Daichi and Suga were at a serious disadvantage. Daichi and Iwaizumi might have been equals in terms of strength, but Iwaizumi had the benefit of a partner who could know exactly what his opponents were going to do before they did it. Hinata couldn’t quite work out how the two of them communicated with each other; it seemed like all Oikawa was doing was giving Iwaizumi meaningful looks and maybe some small gestures.

Either way, Suga and Daichi couldn’t stand up against an opponent who could predict their every move. They walked up the steps of the bleachers looking downcast, but cheered up quickly with encouragement from all of their friends, just like Asahi and Nishinoya had.

When all of the day’s rounds were completed, Hinata met Kageyama’s eyes, and they headed quickly out of the gym, both thinking about the same thing.

_Practice._

______

“I wonder how Oikawa-san lets Iwaizumi-san know what people are going to do,” Hinata said. They were back out on the training field; this time, Kageyama was sending balls flying across the field, leaving Hinata to fly over and retrieve them. There was a strict limit to how high he was allowed to go while not in the net, but Kageyama said he needed to practice his speed just as much.

Kageyama paused with the ball in his hand, “They’ve been friends since they were little kids. Maybe that helps.”

“Oooh…wait, how do you know that?” Hinata wondered. He groaned when Kageyama didn’t answer.

“Why are you so mysterious all the time, Kageyama?” Hinata emphasized this complaint with a smack aimed at Kageyama’s ribs, and predictably, Kageyama glared in response.

Hinata let out a puff of air that blew up the hair on his forehead, “Ugh, fine, whatever. Can we go over to the net now? Can we, Kageyama-kun?”

Kageyama glared down at Hinata’s bouncing with his usual irritation. “Fine,” he said, and, when Hinata started celebrating, “But only for a little! I don’t like just sitting there while you fly around.”

Hinata laughed, hopping into the air. He flew lowly the whole way to the net, because it was fun, but also just a little bit to annoy Kageyama even further.

But Hinata plopped to the ground in disappointment when they got to the net, finding that it was already closed for the night. A panel of wood stood between them and the entrance, obviously meant to keep people out.

“Oh no!” Hinata ran over and tried to move the panel; it wouldn’t budge. “Kageyama! How am I gonna practice now?”

“We’ll just go back to what we were doing before,” Kageyama said.

Hinata scowled. He’d been thinking all day about getting back into the air.

“Can’t you just, you know, make the wood go whoosh!” Hinata made a sweeping gesture with his arms to represent Kageyama moving the panel out of the way with his powers.

For a second, Kageyama frowned thoughtfully, like he was actually considering this option. Then he shook his head, “We’d get into trouble, dumbass. Let’s just go back to the field.”

Hinata groaned. Just the idea of getting to practice in the air had created an itch in his bones. He needed to fly.

Hinata shot a longing look up to the stars. Then his eyes caught sight of the individual training platforms, how they rose up from the main field in little circles. It was on one of those platforms that he and Kageyama had fought, just before the alarms went off and they both panicked because they couldn’t remember the security protocol. Hinata smiled to himself at the memory; it already felt like a hundred years ago.

“Hey, Kageyama!” Hinata was hit with a sudden idea that made him crackle with excitement, “Let’s go up to one of the little platforms!”

Kageyama blinked at him, confused. “Why?”

“I want to practice fighting more,” Hinata came up with the reason easily. Since before break, the two of them had avoided combat training- it never really ended well- but Hinata suspected that they would have to get back to it again eventually. He was improving in class, but still unsteady, not at all confident that he could take on the types of opponents that awaited him in the arena.

Kageyama didn’t look so certain about the suggestion, his eyebrows knit together in thought. “Shouldn’t we be practicing fighting together instead of against each other?” he huffed.

There might have been some truth to this statement, but Hinata couldn’t let this go if he wanted his plan to work. He offered to one thing that he knew Kageyama couldn’t resist- a challenge.

“Are you scared, Kageyama-kun?” Hinata taunted. “I bet I could kick your butt now that I have my powers.”

“I’m not scared, idiot!” Kageyama yelled, already starting to head towards the platform.

They raced the whole way there, both breathing heavily by the time they got to the top of the stairs. Kageyama had beaten him, but Hinata wasn’t as upset about that as he normally would be.

Instead, he took Kageyama’s bent-over and distracted state as an opportunity to carry out his plan.

Hinata took a deep breath, and then, before he could think too much about the possible consequences, he ran to the edge of the platform and flung himself off with a liberated cry.

The cool night air hit his face, and he reveled in the feeling of having so much air underneath him once again. He knew he couldn’t stay up long, that someone had probably already seen him pull his stunt on the security cameras, and began to glide down before he could reach the end of the field. But the leap was worth it just to feel the thrill of being able to catch himself.

Distantly, Hinata could hear Kageyama screaming at him from the upper platform, and knew that he wasn’t just going to be in trouble with the school. But that all seemed so far away as he lay on his back in the grass, breathing heavy with adrenaline, the thrill of flight still thrumming in his bones.

______

Hinata was given a mark on his record, along with a two-week long ban from using any of the school’s training facilities. This was a greater consequence than he’d considered- two weeks without training was precious time lost. Not to mention that Kageyama was furious with him. And Yachi. And Sugawara, and Daichi, and Ukai, and the dean. Tanaka and Nishinoya, however, seemed nothing other than impressed.

It had been a pretty pointless stunt, and Hinata couldn’t completely justify to anyone why he’d done it. He just knew that all he wanted to do was fly. He was tired of moving from one kind of cage into another.

“You have to control yourself,” Takeda-sensei told him one day after class, when he saw Hinata staring gloomily out of the window, “It makes people around here nervous if it looks like you can’t be disciplined about your powers.”

Hinata twiddled his thumbs, “It’s just so new, still. I wish I could do more.”

Takeda smiled kindly, and Hinata was grateful for his understanding. “I know, Hinata. You just have to give it a little time. You’re still training, and another generation of heroes is taking care of things right now. It’s be your turn before you know it, trust me.”

Hinata nodded, but he couldn’t help but worry that the day he’d actually be able to use his powers was a long way away.

__________

During the two weeks that Hinata was banned from the facilities, he used his time to discuss practicing with some of the other pairs in his district, Kageyama’s words about practicing working together sticking in his mind. Kiyoko and Yachi were easy to convince (although Yachi seemed nothing short of mortally terrified to go up against Kageyama), and so were Asahi and Nishinoya, but Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were a little more stubborn. Well, it was really just Tsukishima who was the problem. But once Yamaguchi convinced his sullen hero, Hinata had three pairs of training partners lined up for himself and Kageyama.

These practice sessions took place whenever they all had the time, and were always…interesting. Hinata had a great time competing with his friends and seeing their progress, but he and Kageyama were still working like cogs that didn’t quite fit right. More often than not, they would end up screaming at each other, or miscommunicating so badly that everything fell apart and, despite both of their abilities, caused them to lose spectacularly to their opponents, who were all more naturally compatible.

“You’ll figure it out, Hinata,” Nishinoya told him confidently one day after practice as they were resting on the cool grass, “You guys have come a long way already, you know?”

“I guess,” Hinata said, always feeling better when he talked to Nishinoya about these things, “What about you, Noya-san? Do you ever fight with Asahi-san?”

Nishinoya laughed, a wide grin spreading over his face, “Oh yeah.”

“Really?” Hinata was surprised. Despite their differences, the two of them always seemed to be so in sync; Asahi’s caution made up for Nishinoya’s recklessness, Noya’s bravado for Asahi’s timidity. They worked together like a carefully-choreographed dance, and Hinata struggled to imagine them fighting, both angry and unyielding, the balance disturbed.

“Of course we do! Not that much, but, when we do, it can get ugly. We’re both stubborn as hell.”

“Ooh,” Hinata didn’t think he’d ever seen that side of Asahi. But then he suddenly remembered the day that he and Nishinoya had lost to the team from the Blue District, the look on Asahi’s face, and thought that maybe there was more to the gentle healer than he’d realized.

“So…” Hinata at his knees, which were curled up to his chest, “What do you do to fix it?”

Nishinoya shrugged, “Talk about it, I guess. Or we walk it off and realize there wasn’t really anything to be angry about, and things just go back to normal. But I guess it’s sort of different for us.”

Hinata tilted his head to one side in confusion. “Different? Why, because you picked each other?”

“Well, partly because of that,” Nishinoya looked at Hinata strangely for a second, and then started to laugh, “Wait, you don’t know, do you? Oh my god.”

“Don’t know what?”

“Asahi and I are dating.”

“Oh,” Hinata felt his face growing warm, although he didn’t completely understand why. Probably he was embarrassed by the topic of conversation, but he felt like mostly it was the way Nishinoya was still kind of laughing at him- or smirking, at least, like he was just holding back laughter at Hinata’s expense. He suddenly felt very silly for not understanding after all this time- for not even considering.

“Oh,” he said again, and he must have had a pretty dumbstruck expression on his face because the dam of Nishinoya’s laughter finally broke. It wasn’t mean laughter at all, but Hinata still felt the need to recover by making some kind of constructive conversation, “I guess that is different.”

Nishinoya gave Hinata a couple of brisk claps on the back, “Listen, Hinata. We’re in the best place in the world, right now. Everyone wants us on their side. We can do pretty much whatever we want, as long as we’re putting ourselves at risk to fight bad guys. But…it’s not always easy, you know that better than anyone. So we stick together.”

Nishinoya stood up and stretched, “You and Kageyama will be okay, even if it’s just for the rest of the year. Just the fact that you’re both here means you have plenty in common, you know?”

Hinata nodded. He wasn’t sure he’d understood the rest of what Nishinoya was taking about, but he did recognize that he and Kageyama had some inherent middle ground. He’d sensed that before, and had a feeling it was what had kept them together until this point- the knowledge of a common goal.

Hinata went back to his dorm that day sore and tired, and wondering if there was a way that he could expand his and Kageyama’s middle-ground into something that they could both live on for a while.

_____

>

Hinata started with the first middle-ground he could think of.

Every Thursday night, after Save the Citizen, a huge chunk of the student population of Sora took to the Hideout to get in some start-of-the-weekend partying. Sure, some of the older students had classes on Fridays, and there was plenty of time to party on Friday and Saturday nights, but there was just something about the weekly games that got everyone’s blood boiling, that compelled them to make an almost direct journey from the gymnasium to the underground bunker where superhero kids went to have college parties. The frantic dash always got Hinata’s blood pumping; the rush to shower off day-sweat and change, the sound of party music already drifting out of full-to-capacity dorm rooms, horsing around with his friends in the communal bathroom as the promise of an exciting night full of possibilities hung in the air.

It never really failed to surprise Hinata that Kageyama almost religiously showed up to these parties. But every Thursday, he’d come, looking pretty much the same as he had in the gymnasium, and stand around watching the games of Powerball until some unknowable force pushed him out of the door, having hardly said a word to anyone. Like some awkward, angsty eighteen-year-old ghost who was cursed to hover around social situations, wishing he could hang out with living teenagers….

Hinata huffed. He was leaning against the back of one of the sofas, watching Kageyama through a gap in the crowd of Powerball spectators, plotting. Every week, he’s ask his partner to jump into a game with him, and every week, he was rejected. Hinata knew he was going to have to try a different approach.

“What are you doing?” Yachi appeared at Hinata’s side, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi with her.

“Just watching!” Hinata smiled at her. All three of the other freshmen turned to follow Hinata’s line of sight, their gazes landing on where Kageyama stood, hands in his pockets, looking pretty miserable.

“Why does he even come here?” Yamaguchi asked, not in a cruel way, just genuinely sounding curious. Hinata shrugged.

Near the makeshift court, the appointed referee called the end of the game. Hinata jumped up, and ran over to the court.

“Hinata, what are you doing?” Yachi called after him, but he was already shoving his way through the crowd. He snuck up behind Kageyama, and threw his entire weight into his back, shoving forward so that they were both standing on the clear space used for games.

“Me and Kageyama’ll play in the next one!” Hinata proclaimed before Kageyama could even register what was happening to him. The ref smiled in a bewildered sort of way, and nodded.

Kageyama turned to glare down at Hinata with frightening intensity, but Hinata wasn’t thrown by it, immune after receiving this very look so many times since the beginning of the school year. He only smiled a mischievous smile in response.

“C’mon, Kageyama!” he said, “I see you watching the games every weekend! I know you want to.”

Kageyama’s eyes were wide, and Hinata could tell that his apparent anger was only a thin cover-up for genuine fear. He bent down to whisper furiously to Hinata, “You idiot, I can’t-”

“Hey,” Hinata stopped him, “It’s fine. Just be careful, you know? It’ll be fun.”

Kageyama still looked conflicted, but before he could argue further a pair of shouting voices interrupted them, loud even over the din of the party.

“Hey, _Kageyama’s_ playing?"

“Holy shit. I want in.”

It was Tanaka and Nishinoya, both grinning with excitement as they stepped onto the side of the makeshift court opposite Hinata and Kageyama. Hinata grinned back at them.

“That’s right!” he said, “You guys are going down.”

Nishinoya laughed in that way that made Hinata think he was appreciating his kouhai’s ‘spunk’, as he frequently put it. “We’ll see about that, Shouyou!”

Kageyama looked like he was about to be sick. Hinata wasn’t sure what he could do to help, but luckily, an angel appeared in the form of Sugawara, who jumped into the court beside them.

“Looks like it’s time for an orange district match,” he said, smiling knowingly at Hinata. Next to him, Kageyama visibly relaxed at Suga’s influence, and Hinata thanked him mentally for understanding the importance of this. And it was important- Hinata could feel it in his veins, could sense that Kageyama needed this. Not just so they could do something together, but so Kageyama could learn to do something together with anyone.

Daichi jumped onto the opposite end of the court he and Suga tossing teasing threats between each other. The atmosphere around the game was vibrant; everyone was jostling to see the mysterious and talented first-year’s first game, to see the Orange District going up against each other, to see Daichi and Suga be on opposite sides. Hinata could feel the eyes on him, and felt alive.

The referee whistled for the game to start, and the ball was put into play. Tanaka took the first hit, sending it over the net the old-fashioned way, no powers involved. Hinata jumped up, a gentle, supportive gust of wind carrying him up to block, the faces of the crowd all becoming visible when he reached the highest point. He slammed the ball down, face flushed, gaining a point for their team.

When he settled gracefully back onto the ground, Hinata flashed a bright smile at Kageyama, who was still looking stiff and frightened. Then, Sugawara served, and the game resumed, Nishinoya receiving excellently and the ball going back to their side of the court.

This time, Hinata received and sent the ball soaring over to Kageyama, shouting his name, and silently praying to himself.

Kageyama didn’t move.

But the ball did.

It touched down on the other side of the court, just the perfect balance between very tricky to get and completely impossible. The crowd irrupted into cheers, and Hinata let out a sigh of relief.

Kageyama stared at the other side of the court, his face flushed, and something Hinata had never seen before glittering in his eyes.

____

“That was amazing, Kageyama!” Hinata shouted, bouncing up and down to inhuman heights, “I knew you’d be so good! And you had fun too, right?”

“Hm,” was all Kageyama seemed able to say, but he was unable to hide the pleased flush on his cheeks, the slight upward quirk of his lips. After the first game, people from all districts wanted to have a go playing with or against Kageyama. They’d played a total of four games, Hinata following some unspoken agreement to never leave his partner’s side.

They were exhausted now, walking back through the dark streets with their friends, the sweat still on their skin making them shiver in the night air.

“You were both really something!” Sugawara said cheerfully, “I think powers complement each other very well.”

“I just can’t wait to destroy you next week,” Tanaka said to Kageyama, who looked unsure how to react.

Yachi smiled at Hinata, and he smiled back, knowing that this simple event had opened a brand new door. If the plan had gone badly, and Kageyama had refused to play or wasn’t able to without hurting anyone or making the games be over too fast, then the boy probably just would have retreated further into isolation.

But that wasn’t what had happened. And now, Hinata saw a crack in Kageyama’s wall.

That night, Hinata went to bed happy, tired, and full of hope.

____

The next day, Hinata woke to the sound of alarms.

He groaned, turning over to see that his alarm clock read 5:14 AM.

“Really?” he said unhappily into his pillows, cursing whoever had decided to have a drill at five in the morning on a Friday. After a few seconds passed and the alarm continued to screech, Hinata sighed and managed to haul himself out of his bed.

He ran into Yachi and Yamaguchi in the hallway, both bleary-eyed and cranky-looking. They all complained to each other about the drill as they made their way out of the dorm building.

But when they stepped out, it was into a world of fire.

“Oh my god,” Yamaguchi said, and Yachi gasped, a hand thrown over her mouth. It was still dark outside, or it should have been. But the darkness was banished by blood-red light that washed over the school grounds, giving everything an eerie, surreal glow. Hinata looked up, and saw that the light was coming from an arrow-shaped metal structure hovering high above them, emitting the light in a moving, concentrated beam.

“What is that?” Hinata yelled over the clamor of alarms. All around them, students were running towards the escape pod, many stopping to look up in confusion at the strange sight above them. Hinata felt Yachi tugging at his arm and screaming, but only looked away from the sky when he heard Sugawara’s voice, strained and serious.

“What are you doing?” he screamed at them, “Get to the shelter, hurry!”

Hinata felt like he could taste the tang of his heart in his mouth as he followed Suga across the courtyard, struggling to grasp the sudden reality of what was happening. Above them, the strange craft continued to hover silently, its red beam of light running over the school with menacing slowness.

Halfway to the hatch that would lead them into the escape pod, Hinata heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

“Kageyama! What the hell are you doing?”

It was Daichi’s voice. Hinata turned to see Kageyama standing in the middle of the open courtyard, his eyes wide and glued to the object in the sky. He seemed frozen to the spot, his chest rising and falling with gasping, panicked breaths.

He didn’t respond to Daichi’s words, and the student leader simply ran over to him and picked him up like he weighed nothing, slinging him over his shoulder and running for the hatch.

They all climbed down the ladder into the pod hurriedly, Suga ushering them in before going himself. A few seconds later, Daichi came in with Kageyama, who was still gasping for breath like he’d just been drowning. Suga’s eyebrows knit together in concern when he saw them, and he rushed over to Kageyama, speaking to him in quiet, soothing tones. Kageyama remained unresponsive.

Hinata couldn’t look at his partner, something clenching in his chest at the sight of him falling apart so suddenly, for reasons Hinata couldn’t understand. He looked around the room, and was relieved to see that everyone from their district had made it safely inside. On instinct, he reached out and held Yachi’s trembling hand, as he struggled to grasp the reality that was written on all of his friends’ faces: that, this time, it wasn’t a drill at all.

This time, it was real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly there were so many things in this chapter that I felt inexplicably weird about that I just had to post it before I could worry about it any more and just give up on everything, so I'm really sorry if that weirdness comes through at all for any of you...but I'm totally okay with constructive crit, so let me know what could have made it better if you have any thoughts!
> 
> Again, thanks so much for reading, and comments and kudos are very appreciated as always!! I hope you all have a good week (:


	6. Bravery and Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm so excited to finally be getting this chapter up. Sorry for the unusually long wait, but hopefully it was worth it! I'm on Summer break now, so it should be easier to update consistently. 
> 
> And thank you so much for all of your support- you're comments and kudos mean so, so much to me!

_“One of the greatest Supervillain plots of the decade was finally thwarted yesterday evening, as Heroes took down the organization of a villain of unknown name or origin, ceasing all of their criminal enterprises. For months now, children all over Japan between the ages of eight and seventeen have been going missing, and last month authorities made a public statement announcing that they had evidence suggesting a link between the disappearances. According to the shocking reports, these children were kidnapped from their homes and taken to a hidden laboratory, where they were subjected to experiments of an as yet undetermined nature. Luckily, thanks our Heroes, the culprit has been defeated, and the children returned to their grateful families. We thank them, as always, for their bravery, and their sacrifice.”_

The screen changed from the reporter to a shot of a room full of children being united with crying parents. Hinata didn’t realize that he was crying with them until his mother’s voice entered the living room.

“Shouyou, you really shouldn’t be letting Natsu watch- oh, _honey_. Come here.”

She pulled Hinata in for a tight hug, letting him cry on her shoulder as Natsu stared at them with wide eyes and a thumb stuck fixedly into her mouth.

“No, it’s good,” Hinata managed to say, “They found them…they get to be with their families again.”

Hinata’s mother pet his hair, “You’re right, sweetie. That is good a good thing.”

The shot on the television switched to a petite woman with dark hair, still clinging to her son even as the paramedics tried to coax him into the ambulance. He looked scared, and held on to his mother just as tightly as she held him. _Go with them_ , Hinata thought, _you’re hurt. You need to go to the hospital._

Hinata could tell that his mom was crying too now, and she stroked his hair while he repeated the words in his head, again and again, to make them feel as real as he knew that they should.

_It’s good, it’s good, it’s good…._

________

That was four years ago now, but Hinata recalled the memory vividly as he lay in his bed, trying to get some sleep even though it was already almost noon. The alarms had blared for almost half an hour, the time stretching on in a slow, elastic way as they all waited for the orders to launch the escape pod. After they stopped, everyone was called into the gym for a briefing of the situation; apparently, the unidentified craft had drifted out of their airspace, and was apprehended by the backup security forces that had been called. According to the dean, it was nothing serious, and they were in the clear. After that, Hinata and Yachi had gone to get some breakfast, although neither of them had much of an appetite. Then their dorm had talked for a while, expressing their anxieties and comforting one another until they all started to drift away to take naps.

Hinata hadn’t seen Kageyama since the alarms had stopped ringing. After they got out of the shelter, Kageyama was calmer, but still refused to speak a word. Ukai had appeared and ushered Kageyama out of sight with a serious expression on his face.

After that, Hinata had gone to his computer, forcing his fingers to type into the search bar despite the numb feeling of shock that was weighing them down. He’d read article after article, each one an old, familiar wound. Finally, he found the picture he was looking for.

And now, Hinata couldn’t stop thinking about that day, when he’d watched forty-seven kids and teenagers be reunited with their families after months of torture and separation.

Because now, Hinata could remember the face of the boy on the screen.

_______

“Hinata, are you alright?”

Hinata looked up to see his friends in the sidekick dorm watching him with concern. Everyone had been sticking together more than usual since the shock of the security threat, hanging out in subdued groups even the day after the alarms had started ringing. The people in the lounge was at least pretending to be working on homework, struggling to return to their normal lives. But Hinata couldn’t even pretend to be focusing on his A Brief History of Heroism textbook. Too many long-forgotten images were taking up space in his mind, fading in and out and into one another. And, underneath it all, a specific worry that shot through him like an arrow every time he thought of it.

“Yeah,” he said, closing his book with finality, “I’m just…going to go for a walk.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Yachi’s eyes were wide, like she thought Hinata might be snatched up by formidable forces the instant he stepped outside alone.

But Hinata shook his head, giving her a small smile. “It’s okay. I just need to move around a little.”

He shook his arms and legs around wildly to make his point, and Yachi hid a giggle behind her hand. “Okay. Just, don’t go too far? And remember we have a test on Monday!”

“I know, I know!” Hinata called over his shoulder as he left the dorm building. Outside, the skies were grey, the clouds looming more closely than they would be on land, at home. Hinata found himself wishing he could see his mother. He didn’t know how to help the people around him, or how he could ever learn to face the kind of dangers that he knew was in the world. It frightened him.

In a sense, Hinata was wandering, but really he knew exactly where his feet were bound to take him. He faced down the door of the Hero dorms steadily, before cracking his knuckles on the wood a few times. It wasn’t long before Daichi appeared, the door flinging wide open to reveal the inside of the dorm building. Hinata had only glimpsed it a handful of times, but, come next year, it would be his new home. The thought excited as much as it scared him.

“Hi, Hinata,” Daichi said, with a little smile, but no hint of surprise, “Do you want to come in?”

Hinata was startled at being invited in so directly, without any question about why he was there. But it made sense- it was becoming clear to him, and his first year classmates, that the job of a sidekick was something far beyond giving physical help to their heroes in battle. Even though Hinata was on his way out of Hero Support, he and Kageyama were still partners. Everyone was already expecting him to be there for his Hero.

Sugawara was hanging out in the Hero dorm, which surprised Hinata, who’d thought he was maybe out training or doing some important student leader thing. For a second, he wondered if he’d been invited over to share a piece of his calming presence with the Heroes. Then he met Suga’s eyes, and wondered if maybe he was there mostly because of Kageyama Tobio.

Hinata said a cheery hello those of his friends who were still sticking together in the lounge before being led by Daichi to Kageyama’s room. Realizing he’d never even seen his partner’s room before, Hinata’s stomach churned with nerves. He couldn’t imagine how Kageyama would react to him showing up to his personal space uninvited.

But he wasn’t about to turn back now.

“Kageyama?” Daichi called through the door. Several soundless moments followed, and Hinata wondered if Kageyama was asleep, or just choosing to ignore the outside world for a little longer. But before Daichi could knock again or tell Hinata to come back another time, Kageyama’s door opened a conservative crack.

Kageyama didn’t come out into the hallway. He stayed inside his room, the door opened just widely enough that Hinata could see his partner, whose hair was sticking up, and who was looking at the two of them with bleary eyes. _Sleeping, then,_ Hinata thought to himself. He found this answer comforting.

“Sorry, Kageyama-kun,” he said gently, rubbing the back of his head, “I just wanted to, uh…” Make sure that you were okay.

Kageyama blinked down at him like he was trying to decide if Hinata was an element of a very realistic dream he was having. Then he simply stepped aside, opening the door a little wider so that Hinata could come inside.

Surprised (and honestly a little concerned) by the general lack of yelling and scary faces going on, Hinata stepped into the room with the caution he would use around a sleeping infant. He figured if Kageyama could give up yelling and scowling, then he could sacrifice bouncing and chattering for a few minutes, even if the somber feeling in the room made his skin itch with the desire to shatter it.

Daichi closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.

Kageyama immediately turned around and sat back on his bed, looking blearily out of his window. Hinata felt awkward just standing there, so he rocked a little between his heels and the balls of his feet.

“Um, are you okay?” Hinata blurted, unable to stand the tense quiet between them anymore. Kageyama turned his head further away at the outburst, his eyes shut tightly with emotion.

“I mean,” Hinata tried to recover himself, “Yesterday, you didn’t seem so good, and I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, especially not with me, but I’m still your sidekick and I want to help!”

All the words came out in a breathless rush, Hinata’s voice growing in volume uncontrollably as he got more passionate, but Kageyama still kept his mouth stubbornly shut.

“And you shouldn’t bother keeping things from me either, because I know why you freaked out yesterday. Or at least, I think I know, and I don’t think you should be embarrassed or anything because it makes sense. So, just…” Hinata waved his arms around, wondering how he could still feel like he was arguing with his partner when he was the only one saying anything, “I just want you to talk to me so I can stop feeling all gross and worried about you, because it’s really distracting!”

Finally, this seemed to trigger some kind of response in Kageyama. He looked up at Hinata with wide eyes, “You-”

“Of course I figured it out!” Hinata didn’t know why he was yelling at Kageyama, and thought that was probably not the way to talk to someone who had just had a panic attack the day before, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “I followed that whole case, Kageyama! Of course I did! I remember watching it on the news….”

Kageyama flinched oddly, like Hinata had lashed out and tried to hit him. He cringed away, fists clenching at his sides; Hinata couldn’t understand what he’d said wrong.

“Sorry,” He said anyway, daring to step forward and take a tentative seat next to Kageyama on his bed. “I mean…I’m really sorry, for what happened to you.”

“How can you say that?” Kageyama snapped, and Hinata felt relieved rather than angry that he was reacting normally again. But now he could see that the apparent rage in his voice wasn’t aimed at him at all. He didn’t flinch.

“How can you be sorry when…you must hate me,” Kageyama spoke through his teeth, “Your dad died for me. How am I supposed to deal with that? I don’t know how to act around you, dammit.”

You could maybe try being a little nice. Just maybe. But Hinata bit back the sarcastic thought. In a way, he felt like he was seeing Kageyama Tobio for the first time- someone who was still basically just a kid, who was scared, confused, and struggling to deal with a lot of things that were infinitely beyond him. Trying to make up for the past by straining too hard to get to a hypothetical future, and ignoring the days and the hours in front of him.

_Kind of like me._

Hinata looked down at his hands. “He was doing his job, Kageyama,” he said, knowing that he’d said this same sentence probably a hundred times before, but also feeling like this might be the first time he actually meant it. “Besides, it’s not like you’re the only person he saved. There were tons of you. I’m proud of him.”

There was a little tremor living in those last words that made Kageyama finally look at him. Hinata thought he must be making up the look of bashful concern there.

“Besides,” Hinata pressed on, recovering, “It’s good to see one of you all grown up, especially, you know, using your powers to be a hero and everything. It makes it feel like it wasn’t for nothing, you know?”

He gave Kageyama his brightest smile. Kageyama looked like he’d just nailed him in the stomach with a battering ram, but Hinata knew after months with Kageyama that meant he’d said something good.

“T-there’s someone else,” Kageyama said after a long pause, like he’d been searching for something adequate to say. Hinata must have looked a little dumbstruck, because he elaborated, “In the school…there’s someone else who got their power because of the experiments. Who was rescued by your dad and the other heroes.”

Hinata’s mouth went dry. He knew that those kids would have reason to keep the origin of their powers quiet because of how different it made them from the other students, and that the government had decided to keep the entire story of what had happened as secret as possible. But since most of the survivors were younger than him, he hadn’t really considered that there would be any more of them at Sora.

Besides, how many people would be brave enough to try and become heroes after what they had been through?

“Who is it?” Hinata finally managed to ask.

Kageyama’s expression turned blank, and he turned to look out of the window.

“Oikawa Tooru,” he said simply.

Hinata’s eyes widened. He thought about the way the other students in his district talked about Oikawa, as if he were dangerous. He remembered the way all his hairs kind of stood up when he saw Oikawa using his powers, the sense that something about them was just…wrong. Or unnatural. Or maybe just different. The same way he’d felt about Kageyama’s powers.

Hinata watched his partners unreadable face, and wondered what kind of history he had with Oikawa Tooru.

_____

“Are you coming or what?” Iwaizumi’s voice had a real way of blasting through solid doors, Oikawa thought to himself, smiling. He brushed his fingers against the hair that fell in his face to make sure that it was placed perfectly, more to take up time and annoy Iwaizumi than anything else. Evidently it worked, because another series of unnecessarily aggressive knocks on the door quickly followed.

“I know you’re just wasting time in front of the mirror,” Iwaizumi accused, “We only have a few hours to train today!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Oikawa sang. He wanted as badly as his partner to get as much training in as possible, maybe even more so, but Iwaizumi was so easily ruffled by him that he couldn’t help it. “I just need to get my shoes on!”

As Oikawa slipped into his sneakers, he allowed his mind to rest, like he normally did during moments of quiet. When something required his focus, he had to do his best to tune out the thoughts of people surrounding him, but it could be exhausting. And while in order to really get a person’s thoughts clearly, Oikawa would have to focus on them specifically, bits and pieces tended to drift in and out when he was relaxed, like distant radio interference. Most of the things that he heard, he ignored, let them drift away. It had been enough years now that he’d learned how to live with it.

_“The last test was so much harder than I expected, though….”_

_“Maybe if we go get lunch first then we can-”_

_“There’s no way someone could get that much air with that power, it’s definitely Photoshopped. No, look-“_

**“Tooru.”**

Oikawa’s entire body jolted with shock halfway through tying his shoes. The voice had come not in the form of background noise, drifting peacefully in and out, but had rung loud and clear like someone was yelling his name right in front of him.

Even though he knew it would do him no good, Oikawa turned around frantically to look at his dorm room. As expected, he was the only one there.

“Tooru!” Iwaizumi shouted behind the door, making Oikawa jump again, “Did you forget how to tie your shoelaces?”

Oikawa stood up, his legs a little shaky, and opened the door for his oldest friend.

“Yup,” he said casually, “I forgot. I need you to do it for me, Iwa-chan.” He pointed to his untied shoe and pouted.

Iwaizumi looked for a moment like he was going to snap at his friend again, but then he caught something in Oikawa’s face that made his brows furrow in concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yup!”

“Oikawa.”

Oikawa rolled his eyes, “I’m fine, Iwa-chan. Now stop acting like my mother and tie my shoe for me.”

Iwaizumi responded to that with a hard punch to Oikawa’s shoulder and Oikawa tried to put the mysterious voice out of his mind.

____

“Wow, Yachi has really grown in the past few months!” Sugawara said from the stands. Hinata nodded furiously, barely fighting the urge to launch himself ten feet into the air and bounce off of the gymnasium walls as Yachi and Kiyoko finally took their turn at Save the Citizen. Things had started off a little rocky, with their opponents from the Yellow District being particularly strong and aggressive, but they were obviously turning the tables now. About a minute into the match, Yachi seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving the villains’ team nervous and waiting for an attack from an invisible opponent while they battled Kiyoko’s laser attacks. But, unbeknownst to them, a tiny form was just now climbing the rope, ready to bite through it with its little rodent teeth.

“Go, Yacchan!” Hinata screamed, not caring that his throat was already raw and aching. _That’s my best friend up there!_

Kageyama glared at him, “Shut up, you’re going to give her away!”

Hinata stuck his tongue out at his partner. “You’re such a spoil-sport, Kageyama!” he protested, but quieted down nonetheless. He hadn’t considered that he might ruin Yachi’s element of surprise.

“They’re working together perfectly,” Daichi commented. Sugawara nodded in agreement.

“Kiyoko-san has been really good for Yachi,” he said, smiling, “And the other way around, too.”

Hinata sighed, “Kiyoko-san is so nice. I wish she could’ve been my hero- ow! Hey!”

Sugawara shook his head as Hinata and Kageyama tried to punch and kick each other in the limited space of the bleachers. “You shouldn’t say that in front of Kageyama, Hinata.”

Neither of them listened. “Take it back,” Kageyama demanded, reaching for Hinata’s head.

“No.”

 _“Take it back.”_

“Never!”

“You two, pay attention!” Daichi snapped, and Hinata’s focus jumped back to the match he realized he’d been ignoring. His heart skipped when he saw that the Yellow District’s duo had spotted Yachi’s mouse-like form at the top of the rope.

The problem was, the guy from the Yellow District’s power was fire-throwing. If he aimed for the rope, he could catch it on fire, allowing Kiyoko to swoop in and rescue the dummy. Not to mention that he had to deal with Kiyoko’s lasers blocking him at every turn.

Hinata wasn’t sure what his sidekick’s power was, until she melted into a puddle on the floor.

There was a smattering of laughter around the gymnasium. “What kind of power is that?” Hinata heard someone say.

But then the little puddle of goop that had once been a college-aged woman was beginning to move, slinking across the gymnasium floor like a big flat slug. And then, amazingly (and kind of disgustingly) the sentient slime-puddle stretched herself, reaching up and up until she was able to glue herself onto the rope and hang there. Then, she started to move towards where Yachi was still frantically attempting to gnaw through the rope and free the citizen.

Kiyoko sent a few laser beams in the direction of the melting girl, but she had her hands tied with the flamethrower, and was also clearly worried about hitting Yachi by mistake.

Now that the secret was out, Hinata had nothing to stop him from ardently cheering for his best friend. He bounced up and down, yelling until he couldn’t hear his own voice.

_“Hitoka-chan! You can do it!”_

It was down to the last second. The melted snail-blob had nearly reached Yachi, and Kiyoko was too distracted by her opponent to do anything. Then, the rope broke, sending both the melted girl and the dummy citizen into a free-fall towards the spike pit.

“She did it!” Hinata screamed. The blob girl reformed at the last minute, rolling into a jump back to the safety of the gymnasium floor. While the flamethrower was distracted by her, Kiyoko flew forward and snatched the dummy citizen just before it met its gruesome end.

The crowd roared. On the floor, the melting girl reformed and immediately marched over to her Hero to yell at him for getting distracted. Kiyoko ran over to the rope to pluck off Yachi, who turned back into her human form as soon as she was in her partner’s hands. Kiyoko stumbled backwards with the weight of her Sidekick, and they both fell to the floor, laughing with the joy of their victory.

Hinata could barely control himself. Too full of excitement and pride to stand still, he bounced around the bleachers, celebrating alongside his Orange District friends.

“They get along so well,” Michimiya’s quiet commentary reached Hinata from the row behind her, and he guessed he could see what his student leader meant. He looked over at Kageyama, who was wearing a strange expression as he watched the two girls celebrate.

After the last match of the day, they all headed out to get ready to go to the Hideout, Hinata still bouncing at a blushing Yachi’s side and rambling endlessly about the match.

“And then Kiyoko-san was like _woosh!_ ” he said, illustrating the motion of Kiyoko flying to the citizen’s rescue with his arms, “It was awesome!”

“Thank you, Hinata-san,” Kiyoko smiled gently. Hinata almost passed out on the spot.

“Y-yeah…heh….”

Both girls were bombarded by Tanaka and Nishinoya after that, and Hinata noticed that Kageyama was heading in the opposite direction of the exiting crowd, back to where coach Ukai was still standing and talking to a couple of other professors.

“Where are you going?” Hinata called after him, but Kageyama acted like he didn’t hear. Hinata scowled, not willing to let his partner ignore him.

Hinata ran to catch up with Kageyama, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Hinata bumped Kageyama with his shoulder, “Come on, Kageyama-kun!”

Kageyama glared, but Hinata thought that it looked half-hearted, “It’s none of your business.”

“Whatever,” Hinata pouted, “Will you at least be at the Hideout to play tonight?”

Kageyama looked surprised that Hinata would even ask. “Of course,” he said.

Hinata grinned, satisfied enough with that answer to let Kageyama go. Either way, he would have plenty of time later to pester him about what he was hiding.

As it turned out, Hinata was too distracted to remember to try and get answers out of Kageyama. Yachi and Kiyoko’s dramatic win had he and all of his friends worked up even more than they usually were on Thursday nights. Everyone celebrated with raucous enthusiasm, toasting to their teammates, dancing and- most importantly- playing round after round of Powerball.

Hinata and Kageyama were in rare form. It had been a few weeks since the first time they’d played side by side, and they were starting to find a rhythm together that dominated the competition. Students from all different districts were lining up to have a shot at beating them, only to have their hopes dashed by Hinata’s quick flying and Kageyama’s seemingly limitless telekinetic ability.

By the end of the night, they were all exhausted but happy, and more than a few of Hinata’s friends were well on their way to hammered. The festive atmosphere lingered on even when Hinata was getting ready for bed, and there was no room in his head to think about what Kageyama might have been hiding from him.

_______

The issue didn’t resurface until a week later, when Hinata was interrupted during a rare moment of Saturday Doing Nothing by coach Ukai and a particularly scary-faced Kageyama marching right up to his spot outside.

“Wh-what’s going on, coach?” he stuttered as Ukai instructed him to follow them, Kageyama standing at his side with an expression like they were about to attend someone’s funeral. Hinata wondered if it would be his.

“You’ll see,” he said evasively, and Hinata swallowed, his mouth ‘ate-too-much-bread-without-any-water-again’ dry. The two were now leading him towards the outdoor training platform, and Hinata could no longer think of any explanation other than that he was about to be pushed off the edge of the school by his partner and his gym teacher. Even though he could fly, the possibility was upsetting.

Kageyama didn’t look at him for the entire walk. He stared straight ahead, his eyes like hard steel and a red flush on the tips of his ears that Hinata had never seen before. Maybe because it was starting to get cold?

After what felt to Hinata like the long walk of a man being brought to the guillotine, the three came to a stop by the flying net. A fraction of Hinata’s dread lifted; he had a lot of good memories of flying around in that net, watching the earth far beneath him as he dashed and swirled and tumbled in mid-air.

It was undoubtedly Hinata’s favorite thing, but still he couldn’t help but long to be out in the open sky, nothing restricting him from finding out what he could really do out there.

“So,” Ukai said, bending so that he was at eye-level with Hinata, his tone deadly serious, “I want to make something very clear to you, Hinata.”

Hinata trembled, his nerves being worn down to fight-or-flight instincts. His mind worked as fast as he could fly and his mom could run, wondering what sacred, unbreakable rule he had broken, and how Kageyama could have ratted him out after all they’d been through together. _Betrayal!_

But then Ukai straightened, and walked over to the net’s opening and control panel.

“This is only happening once,” he said, and without further explanation, pulled the lever marked Do Not Pull. There was a racket of clanking and groaning, and then the entire huge square net began to collapse on itself. When it was properly flattened, it retreated completely into the body of the platform, leaving Hinata staring at nothing but the crisp October sky.

Hinata looked between Ukai and Kageyama, confused.

“It was Kageyama’s idea,” Ukai explained, and now there was a smiling gleam in his eyes that wasn’t there before, “He said that as long as he’s there to catch you, you won’t need a net. He made a very convincing argument...mainly, he wouldn’t leave me the hell alone. I agreed to ask the dean about it, but I didn’t think the guy would actually say yes…” Ukai rubbed the back of his neck like he hadn’t asked for any of this.

Hinata stared at the open expanse of sky only a handful of footsteps in front of him. A chilly breeze ruffled his hair, and he felt sudden tears spring into his eyes as he realized what was about to happen.

He turned to Kageyama, “You mean…you…” he didn’t know how to finish. Kageyama turned away, the tips of his ears still bright red.

“If you don’t learn how to fly in open air, you won’t be much use in the real world,” he said.

Hinata took a deep breath, taking it in that Kageyama had done this for him. Not for them as a team, not so that they could both win at something, but for him. He smiled so wide his cheeks ached, and he dipped into a grateful bow.

“Thank you!” he shouted. Kageyama looked stunned for a moment, and maybe a little terrified. Then he seemed to pull himself together, and simply nodded in response.

The look Ukai was giving them was halfway between sentimental and exasperated. “Come on, kid,” he said, “I haven’t got all day.”

Hinata nodded, excited and nervous and so, so ready to be finally be out there. Ukai brought him to the edge of the platform, still with that weird look in his eyes. Hinata felt that he hadn’t received much special treatment at Sora because his dad had been a hero who everyone had known, who everyone had lost. Now, as he was about to jump off the edge of the school, it crossed his mind that he might be experiencing his first, true moment of favoritism.

He couldn’t say he was complaining.

Ukai helped him lower himself down, his hands gripping the ledge like he was getting into a swimming pool. But there was no water beneath him- only thousands of feet of sky, and the green, living earth at the end of it. Nothing between standing between him and…well, everything.

“Oi,” Hinata’s head snapped up to see Kageyama looking down at him from the platform above, gaze steady and serious as he met Hinata’s eyes.

“If you fall, I’ll catch you.”

Hinata smiled, and believed him with all that he was. Believed in ways that he couldn’t justify, or put into words, that Kageyama would never let him fall.

The breeze blew, and Hinata thought of his dad. Then he pushed off of the safety of Sora University, and flew out into the open sky.

__________

Two important things were happening that Thursday. One was the regular round of Save the Citizen, but Ukai had all week been hinting that a special twist would be thrown into the mix that particular week. On top of that, the pool of teams from the Orange District had finally run dry. Now that everyone had had their turn, Hinata and Kageyama had the chance to be chosen again.

The second thing was that it was Nishinoya’s birthday, and he’d promised a major blowout party open to the entire school. Up until this point, Hinata had been pretty well-behaved when it came to parties- mostly because he was usually too focused on winning Powerball to do much of anything else- but this time, he intended to break that pattern. And he was looking forward to it.

There was an abnormal amount of bustling excitement from the bleachers that day as everyone settled into their seats. They’d all known that there would be something different this time, with Ukai’s dodgy hinting, and the fact that the gymnasium had been completely closed for the past two days for “construction”. But everyone was still surprised by what they saw when they stepped into the gym.

The pit of doom was nowhere to be seen, which could be considered a relief- except that the pit had been replaced with an imposing structure made of what looked like iron, that covered the gymnasium floor almost entirely. It rose up on dark metal pillars, creating platforms of varying levels. Some of the platforms were separated from each other, while others simply dropped off sharply to lower platforms, or lead to a treacherous-looking climbing wall. Overall, it looked like an incredibly scary, unrealistically difficult obstacle course.

As soon as he saw it, Hinata screamed in excitement.

Kageyama seemed pleased too, looking at the structure with an intense but happy gleam in his eyes, and even obliging Hinata’s request for a celebratory high-five. Nishinoya and Tanaka reacted similarly, while Asahi looked like he was about to cry, and Suga and Daichi conversed quietly, casting serious looks in the structures direction like they were gossiping about it behind its back.

“Man, I hope we get called,” Tanaka said to Ennoshita, who looked like he didn’t agree with that statement at all, “This is gonna be sick.”

“ _I’m_ going to be sick,” Yachi interjected, and everyone laughed, although it didn’t really look like she was joking. Kiyoko placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Once they’d all shuffled into their seats, Ukai stepped onto the floor with his megaphone. Today, he was joined by the Dean, who stood at his side looking like he was trying to gaze proudly upon his student body, but mostly just looking like he really had to sneeze. When he spoke, Hinata was almost too distracted by his obvious toupee that to notice how his voice echoed around the gymnasium, even though Ukai was still the one holding the megaphone.

“I didn’t know the dean had a power like that,” Hinata muttered to Kageyama, who shrugged.

“Welcome, students!” the dean boomed, the sound somehow much more real than if it was coming through an amplification device, like he was standing right next to all of them and shouting. Several of the students flinched violently, and Ukai looked like he was fighting the urge to plug his ears, but the dean pressed on as if he didn’t notice.

“It is wonderful to be able to address you all like this,” he said, “And I must say, this is turning out to be a very promising group indeed! You all are wondering, of course, why your gymnasium looks so different than usual. Well, because we hear at Sora are known for how rigorously we challenge our students and prepare them for the dangerous world of Hero work, we decided to make Save the Citizen a touch more challenging as well! Now, coach Ukai, if you’ll do the honors!”

It may have been the distance obscuring his view, but Hinata thought that Ukai looked wary as he turned towards the monstrous structure. He put his hand on a gigantic lever, and pulled hard.

There was a cacophony of metallic noises, the sounds of a huge, complicated machine warming up. Then everything started to move at once. In one spot, the floor started to spit out enormous pillars of fire. In another, a giant blade came down from the top, and began swinging back and forth in deadly arches, and the rock wall that Hinata had been eyeing before began to move, the steps and handholds beginning to shift in erratic patterns. At the very end of the course hung the citizen, swinging lifelessly over a pit of fire.

Hinata’s eyes widened as it became obvious that this was much, much more than a normal obstacle course. It was practically a _death trap._

“But this is ridiculous!” Sugawara shouted, loud enough so that plenty of the spectators could hear him. His words incited a wave of nervous protests from the crowd, with several students shouting things like “Is this some kind of joke?” and “We’ll get killed if we get on that thing!”

Ukai raised a hand to signal everyone to be quiet. “Calm down,” he snapped into his megaphone, but he still had that nervous look in his eyes, “Everything is fitted with an emergency override system in case anyone is in serious danger. Besides that, we will be monitoring everything that happens more closely than usual, and we have several healers on standby.”

There were still some unhappy mumblings in the stands, but Ukai shut them down, “Quiet! I won’t hear any more complaining. Now, the first teams to be competing will be from the-”

But Ukai was suddenly stopped by the dean, who put an authoritative hand on the megaphone and said something to the coach that the students couldn’t hear. Looking even more displeased than before, Ukai handed the bucket of names to the dean, who turned back to address the students.

“Coach Ukai has graciously allowed me to be the one to draw the names for this special occasion,” his superhuman voice rang out, “The first two teams will be drawn from the Green and Orange districts.”

Hinata and Kageyama shared a mutual excited, slightly petrified look. Yachi started hyperventilating. There was an aura of tension throughout their section of the bleachers, as everyone waited for their fates to be decided.

The dean rummaged around the pot of names from the Green District. He made a big show out of it, mixing them up and fishing around for what felt like an eternity before finally pulling out a slip of paper.

“The representatives from the Green District will be,” he said, reading from the slip, “Iwaizumi Hajime and Oikawa Tooru!”

This triggered a mumbling response from the crowd; the duo was well known throughout the school, and everyone was excited to see how they would handle a new challenge. Hinata looked over at Kageyama, who was staring out at the obstacle course with renewed intensity.

“And from the Orange District,” the Dean announced, reaching into the bag and causing Hinata’s skin to erupt with anxious goosebumps.

“Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou!”

Everyone in their district turned to stare at them. Hinata looked to Kageyama to see what he was feeling, and got a small, quick nod. Hinata nodded back, and they started to shuffle out of the bleachers.

“Hinata, you can’t!” Yachi intercepted him, face flushed and eyes teary, “This isn’t a game, I don’t know what they’re thinking, but you could both get seriously hurt!”

Daichi nodded, leaning over to address the two of them, “She’s right. You have every right to refuse to do this.”

Hinata thought about this, looking down to where Oikawa and Iwaizumi were already stretching on the gymnasium floor. They were talking quietly to each other, and they both looked shaken. But they sure as hell didn’t seem to be backing out.

“We’ll be fine,” Hinata said, at precisely the same time Kageyama said, “We’re doing it.”

Yachi gave them both a desperate look, and wouldn’t let go of Hinata’s shirt sleeve, but Kiyoko took her hand away.

“Do your best, Hinata, Kageyama,” she said, and Yachi nodded furiously in agreement.

Everyone gave them words of encouragement as they left, and Hinata found that, somehow, he was much less nervous than he’d been the first time they played Save the Citizen together. Maybe because this time, he knew Kageyama had his back.

“Hey,” Kageyama said, bending down to talk conspiratorially into Hinata’s ear as they walked to the course, “It would be best if you went ahead. You can fly through the obstacles, and I’ll stay behind you and make sure they don’t give you too much trouble. I probably can’t stop the machines from working, but I can keep them from getting in your way.”

Hinata nodded, seeing the benefits of the plan; he’d already realized his flight would be a major advantage in most of the obstacles. “What about Oikawa and Iwaizumi?” he asked.

Kageyama looked over at their competition, his expression unreadable, “I can handle them."

Before Hinata could ask for any more details, Ukai blew his whistle to get everyone’s attention. “Alright, players to the starting line!”

Hinata got in a few last minute stretches, and they all lined up at the spot marked as the beginning of the course. In front of him, the structure loomed, with four iron ladders leading up to the first platform. He looked to his left, and Oikawa gave him a little wave.

“Good luck, Tobio-chan!” he said to Kageyama. His voice was sugary-sweet, but there was hardness in his eyes that conveyed what he really meant: _you’re going to need it._

Kageyama glared at Oikawa, but didn’t have any time to retort before Ukai began counting down.

“Three…two…one… _go!_ ”

The muscles in Hinata’s legs strained as he kicked off, hoping to get enough lift to clear the huge ladder in one jump. But he wasn’t used to flying directly upwards, and lost momentum a few rungs away from the top. The sudden tug of gravity forced him to reach up, grab the highest rung, and try to pull himself up to the platform.

But when Hinata tried to pull his hand away from the latter, he found it wouldn’t budge. Something thick and sticky was coating the rungs, leaving him glued there- a fly in a trap. Panicking, Hinata looked over his shoulder. Behind him, Iwaizumi was already gaining, using his impressive strength to pull himself up by the sides of the ladder, where there was apparently none of the sticky substance to slow him down.

“Kageyama!” Hinata cried, not knowing what his partner could do to help him in this situation, but hoping that he could figure something out. But it looked like Kageyama had his hands tied- he and Oikawa were both trying to pry themselves from the bottom rungs of the ladder, and were having what looked like an intense staring contest. Hinata wasn’t sure what was going on between them, but decided that he didn’t have time to wait for his Hero’s help.

Because Hinata had flown up to grab the top rungs, he hadn’t set his feet on the ladder, and they dangled freely underneath him. Taking a deep breath, he summoned the air around him, willing it to carry his lower half upwards.

With a huge gust, Hinata’s feet flipped up. For a moment, he did a terrifying handstand at the top of the ladder, his palms still glued to the last bar. Then he pushed against gravity again, and his hands came free. He flew into the air feet first, flipped over, and landed on his butt on the first platform.

“Ow,” Hinata said, before he realized that the crowd was cheering for him. The sound put him right back into the moment, and he sprung to his feet.

A look over his shoulder found that Iwaizumi was nearly to the top. Up ahead, a staircase dropped down to a lower platform, where holes shot up huge geysers of fire at random.

 _No thanks,_ Hinata thought. He kicked off into the air just as Iwaizumi climbed up onto the first platform.

He thought that he had this in section in the bag- while he was soaring above the obstacles, Iwaizumi struggled down the staircase, which apparently had entire sections that would fall out from underneath you if you stepped on them. After that, Iwaizumi would have to navigate through the fire pillars and climb the moving rock wall before he could get to the next platform. Oikawa was still nowhere in sight- although, for that matter, neither was Kageyama.

A few of the flame geysers reached a little higher than Hinata had anticipated, and he nearly fell out of the air in shock when a bit of his shoulder got scorched through his t-shirt. But he kept his eyes on the platform ahead.

_It was when he reached the third platform that Hinata realized he was in serious trouble. He was now at the highest point of the course. There was no room for him to fly above the obstacle in front of him- a giant axe, swinging back and forth so fast that there was barely any window for Hinata to jump through. An iron cage wrapped around the area; to get to the other side, Hinata would have to go through._

__

Yachi’s voice rang in his mind; _this isn’t a game._ If Hinata made the wrong move, he’d be in two pieces when he reached the other side.

Hinata tried to calculate when he should jump, but his brain wouldn’t work right, all of his thoughts moving too slowly like they were still stuck on the sticky ladder. He tried to prepare his legs to jump, but they could only tremble. His shoulder burned. The noise of the crowd sounded lightyears away.

A hand on his shoulder told Hinata that he had waited too long. He was spun around, and found himself looking into the serious eyes of Iwaizumi Hajime. His hair was smoking, and there was a nasty cut across his cheek, but he was otherwise unharmed.

“Listen,” Iwaizumi said lowly, “We should-”

“Hinata!”

Hinata looked over Iwaizumi’s shoulder to see Kageyama coming over the edge of the platform, looking like he’d been through hell. As he crawled up, a hand that Hinata assumed was Oikawa’s reached up and grabbed his shoulder, holding him back. Hinata had no idea how the two had covered so much ground so quickly, but he sure was happy to see his partner.

“Kageyama, stop the axe!” he shouted.

Kageyama finally pulled himself up, Oikawa right behind him, with his hand now wrapped around Kageyama’s ankle.

“I’m trying!” Kageyama had a wild look in his eyes, “He’s-”

Kageyama was cut off but Oikawa pulling him down again. Hinata wasn’t sure exactly what happened after that. There was a shout, and Kageyama climbed up onto the platform, looking terrified.

“Oikawa-san!” he yelled over the edge, breathless. Hinata stomach dropped as he realized that Oikawa must have fallen over the edge…right into the minefield of fire.

Iwaizumi cursed, voice strained. He ran over to the edge, pushing Kageyama aside and rapidly climbing down the rock wall, which Kageyama must have been keeping from moving. Hinata ran over to look down, seeing Oikawa at the bottom, and Iwaizumi already there, moving to pick him up.

“I didn’t mean to,” Kageyama sounded broken.

Hinata looked down at a crowd full of stunned faces. “They should stop the game,” he said, “Why aren’t they stopping it?”

Then, the supernaturally amplified voice of the dean echoed off of the gymnasium walls.

_“It isn’t over until someone rescues the citizen!”_

Hinata and Kageyama shared a panicked look. Then Hinata took a deep, steadying breath, and helped Kageyama to his feet.

“Stop the axe,” he ordered. For a moment, Kageyama looked shocked, but then he nodded. He looked at the obstacle, and it froze at the peak of its swing to the left. Even in this situation, the force of Kageyama’s power took Hinata’s breath away.

With the huge blade out of the way, Hinata flew forward with ease. From the end of the platform, he could see the citizen dangling from the ceiling. Unfortunately, he could also see that a contraption was fixed to the edge of the platform, shooting an endless volley of arrows into the air where the citizen was dangling. If Hinata jumped for it, he would likely be shot down. He knew that, since Kageyama couldn’t see the machine from the other side of the axe, he wouldn’t be able to change its course.

Hinata was about to make the jump anyway, thinking about Oikawa on the ground, unable to get help until the game finished. But then he heard a cry behind him, and turned around to see Kageyama making the jump through the swinging axe.

For a moment, it looked like Kageyama could keep his eyes on it while he jumped, keeping it in place. But he lost his focus at the last instant, and it swung sideways.

“No!” Hinata shouted.

The axe sliced through the air. Kageyama was almost to the other side, but his legs were still in its path, and the blade caught him at the ankle before he fell in a heap at Hinata’s feet.

“Kageyama!” Hinata bent down to see if he was okay, but his partner sat up, clutching his bleeding leg.

“I’m fine,” he said. He looked at the arrow shooter, and it swung upwards, shooting arrow after arrow into the ceiling. “Now go get this the hell over with.”

Hinata nodded, his heart drumming like wild from almost watching his friend get sliced in half. But he stood, and leaped off the ledge before he could think more about anything that had happened, aiming for the citizen.

“And the winners are…the Orange District!”

_______________

Hinata tried to get away from the healer who fussed over his burned shoulder, plus numerous little cuts and bruises he hadn’t noticed before. He wanted to see Kageyama.

Close by, he could see coach Ukai arguing with the dean; Ukai looked like he was three seconds away from turning the older man into a pile of ashes on the gym floor, but the dean looked strangely calm. A few moments later, Ukai announced that this would be the end of the games for today, and that everyone should go and relax. Normally, this would cause a disappointed uproar, but none of the students seemed eager to protest after what they’d just seen.

Finally, Hinata was all healed, and he ran over to look for his partner. He saw Kageyama still with a healer and ran over.

“Hey,” he said, “You okay?”

Kageyama nodded. Hinata looked at the deep cut in Kageyama’s ankle, just beginning to shut under the healer’s hands. It must have been down to the bone to take that long to heal.

“What about Oikawa?”

“He’ll be fine,” Kageyama said, but he still looked troubled. As soon as his ankle was healed, he sprung up, ignoring the healer’s protests.

Hinata squeaked as Kageyama grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the gym exit.

“Hey, get off me! What’s wrong with you?”

Kageyama let go when they were in the privacy of a hallway around the corner from the gym. “It’s Oikawa,” he said. He was bending down to talk to Hinata, and his face was really close. Hinata kept forgetting what was going on when he looked at his intense black eyes.

Kageyama gave him a withering look. “Oh! Uh, what about Oikawa?” Hinata stammered.

Kageyama looked over his shoulder like someone might be spying on them. Normally Hinata would laugh at him for being so dramatic, but after the danger they’d just been in, everything seemed more grave than usual.

“When I tried to use my power on him, he…” Kageyama struggled for the words, “He stopped it, somehow. It was like he could get into my head and keep me from trying to do anything.”

Hinata gaped. “He can do that?”

“I didn’t think so, but…” Kageyama looked really terrified. Hinata wondered what it would feel like to have someone reach inside him and stop him from using his power, and shuddered.

“Is that why you pushed him off the ledge?”

Kageyama took a swipe at him, which Hinata dodged. “I didn’t do that on purpose! He was fending me off, but then it’s like he got distracted by something. He was acting really weird. And the dean-”

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by loud, familiar voices.

“Oooh, what’s going on here?” Tanaka peeked around the corner, followed by the rest of their friends. Hinata stepped a few inches away from Kageyama.

“Why’d you guys run off?” Nishinoya said, giving Kageyama a few brisk slaps to the back while Tanaka ruffled Hinata’s hair. “That was fucking amazing! I mean, it sucked. But it was so cool!”

Kageyama swayed a little on his feet at Nishinoya’s pounding, and Hinata remembered that he hadn’t let the healer finish taking care of him. Actually, Hinata himself was feeling a little wobbly from all of the excitement and exertion. He needed dinner and a good nap.

Luckily Sugawara rescued them, batting Tanaka and Nishinoya away. Unlike them, his face looked tired and concerned. “Leave them alone,” he said, sounding more pissed off than Hinata had ever heard him, but also like it wasn’t really the two second-years who he was mad at, “They’ve been through hell today.”

Yachi peered up at Hinata and Kageyama with wide, caring eyes, “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

Hinata waved her off, “I’m fine! I just could use some food….”

“Oh! Let’s go get dinner, then,” she offered, and Hinata nodded gratefully.

Suga said something to Daichi, too quiet for anyone else to hear. “Everyone go get something to eat,” Daichi said, “We’re going to go talk to Ukai about, uh…what just happened. There’s no way we’re sending anyone onto that course again.”

“Uh, not to disrespect the mood or anything,” Nishinoya said, “But you can all still come to my party, right?”

Hinata had almost forgotten about Nishinoya’s birthday. Just thinking about something as fun and normal as a college party helped lift his spirits. “Yeah!”

Nishinoya high-fived him. They all walked to the town together after that to get some dinner, and the excitement almost put what had happened, and Kageyama’s concerns, out of his mind.

_______________

After a huge dinner, a long nap, and a hot shower, Hinata was ready to go to Nishinoya’s party. His body still ached from the Obstacle Course of Death, a deep exhaustion that he knew no healer could help him with. But he was energized by excitement and, most importantly, feeling like he could really use some stress relief.

Convincing Kageyama of the health benefits of some good, old-fashioned partying took some serious negotiating skills. Ever since the Save the Citizen fiasco, Kageyama had been quiet- not his usual scowling-but-mostly-just-vacant kind of quiet, but a more thoughtful brooding type that told Hinata he was really bothered by what had happened. Whether it was the course itself, or what had happened with Oikawa, or a combination of both, Kageyama was obviously freaked out.

So Hinata made it his mission to drag Kageyama out to have some fun at any cost. He made it his second mission to get Kageyama drunk once they got there.

Nishinoya was already at the Hideout when they arrived, as were about fifty other people from all over the school. Unlike normal nights, the lights were all turned off, replaced with strobes and spinning, multicolored disco balls. Hinata was a little disappointed to see that the Powerball net had been taken down, in order to allow more space for dancing.

Hinata figured that most people didn’t celebrate their birthdays this way- if they did, then there would be a party like this every other night. But it made sense that Nishinoya would want to do something special and extreme for himself and his friends.

“Where did you get all this stuff?” Hinata shouted at the birthday boy over the music, referring to both the lights, and the entire table full of liquor pushed against the wall. But Nishinoya only winked and told him that he should leave some things to his senpai, and helped him pick out what drink to start with.

Hinata’s lack of experience combined with his generally tiny body meant that it didn’t take much for him to start to feel it. He didn’t have much prior knowledge with which to gauge his level of drunkness; all he knew was that one moment he was just feeling relaxed and a little floaty, and the next the floor was rocking underneath him like he was on the open ocean.

After a little while, Suga found Hinata sitting on the arm of one of the couches, laughing too loud at the silly party game they were playing.

“You should drink some water,” he advised, his smiling face flushed what Hinata thought was the prettiest pink he’d ever seen in his life.

Hinata nodded, although he wasn’t sure he could remember where the water was. “I’m surprised you and Daichi-san are okay with this!”

Sugawara laughed. “Well, it’s bound to happen a few times a semester. And we’re college kids too, you know!”

“Not for long, though!” Hinata said, suddenly very sad about this prospect. He couldn’t imagine getting to school next April and finding that everything was different.

Sugawara gave him a pat on the back. “That’s true,” he said, “But you’ll still see us around!”

Hinata groaned and let his heavy head fall onto Suga’s shoulder, and Suga laughed again.

“Come on,” he said, standing up, “Let’s go dance!”

Not even thinking to question this, Hinata sprung up, his mind feeling a little clearer than it had a moment before. On the couch, he saw Yachi, looking small and squished between Kiyoko and Kageyama. Kageyama’s eyes were glazed, and he looked overwhelmed.

“Come dance!” Hinata shouted to his friends. It took a lot of coaxing, but they got up and joined the mob of people in the center of the room.

The music was good, and Hinata wondered if Noya had picked all of the songs himself. Even with the extra room, the floor was cramped with dancers, everyone so close it was like swimming in an ocean made of sweaty college students. Hinata decided that the lack of space was something he liked.

Yachi was nervous, but Suga helped her relax, joking with her and doing goofy dances. Hinata joined in, making her laugh and start to throw her own body around in ridiculous ways.

Kageyama stood on the edge of their little circle, hands in his pockets, and eyes boring into the wall opposite them like he was trying to burn a hole into it. Hinata couldn’t help but snicker at his awkward friend. He danced extra silly when Kageyama looked his way, and was delighted when he got a startled laugh out of his partner.

The hours went by fast, and blurry, and sweaty. Hinata’s thoughts were in another world, his worries on a distant planet. More important than anything, he was surrounded by his friends.

A little past midnight, Kageyama decided to leave. Hinata decided to walk him home.

“You should stay,” Kageyama grumbled, hands in his pockets, “You were still having fun.”

Hinata shrugged, smiling. “I felt like going outside anyway. Besides, you’re too drunk to walk home by yourself.”

Kageyama tried to grab Hinata for that, but he missed, stumbling forward like a great lumbering tree just learning how to walk. The sound of Hinata’s laughter stuck out of the cold, quiet night, but neither of them noticed.

“I’m fine,” Kageyama insisted, picking up his walking pace as if to prove he could walk in a straight line, “And you’re drunk too, so how are you supposed to help me?”

“Oh,” Hinata laughed, “I didn’t think about that!”

Kageyama grabbed Hinata by the head for a moment, but didn’t push him to go back to the party any more. The streetlights of the little floating township created a hazy glow that matched his mood. One in the morning felt soft and silent, like all the scary things in the darkness only stuck around until midnight. After the party, walking in silence with Kageyama felt like true peace.

“Kageyama?”

“Huh?”

“Do you ever think about what your Superhero name will be?”

Kageyama stopped, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

“You know!” Hinata waved his arms around, “Like Superman, or The Raven! A cool name, to hide your secret identity.” He put his hands over his eyes, parting his fingers so his they showed through like a mask. Kageyama stared at him.

“Uh, no. I haven’t really thought about that.”

“Oh, come on! You want to be a Hero so bad, you must have thought about it a little,” they’d started walking again, but Hinata stuck his leg out to give Kageyama a little kick. “Tell me!”

“I don’t know,” Kageyama frowned thoughtfully. He hadn’t even reacted to Hinata’s kick; it seemed like drunk Kageyama was much more serene than his sober counterpart.

Seeing that Kageyama was being honest about never thinking about it, Hinata put his own intoxicated mind to work.

“Well, it should be related to your power,” he mused, as they crossed the bridge onto the main platform of the school. From here, it was easy to see how the night sky stretched, endless and mysterious, into the horizon. “You move things with your mind, so…um….”

“The Mover,” Kageyama said immediately, so earnest that Hinata had to stop and crouch on the cobblestones, his body aching with laughter.

Kageyama scowled down at him, “What?”

“The Mover!” Hinata wheezed, “It…it sounds like your power is like, moving peoples’ furniture and stuff!”

An almost imperceptible smile crept onto Kageyama’s face, dimpled at the edges like he was trying to suppress it. “I’d probably be pretty good at that too,” he said.

Struggling to pull himself together, Hinata sat up and looked at his friend, “If this Hero thing doesn’t work out, we should start a moving business together.”

“What would you do?”

“I’d drive the truck.”

Kageyama snorted, “Fine.”

After a pleasant silence, Hinata found the strength to lift himself off of the ground, and they resumed their journey to the Orange District’s platform. The descent down the steep staircase was treacherous for both of them. A sequence of misplaced steps, slips, and nearly twisted ankles lead to Hinata grabbing Kageyama’s arm like a second railing. They stumbled onto their home platform as one big, clumsy unit.

“So what about you?”

Hinata looked at Kageyama, his drifting thoughts already far away from what they had been talking about, “Huh?”

“What would your Hero name be, dumbass.”

“Oh!” Unlike Kageyama, he had thought about this. He’d been thinking about it since he was a toddler, and the name was so ready on his tongue that he couldn’t stop it. “The Little Giant!”

Hinata felt his face get hot when he realized he’d just blurted his silly name out so easily. But beside him, Kageyama hummed in acknowledgment.

“I like it,” he decided, and Hinata’s pulse skipped, “It doesn’t have anything to do with flying, though.”

“Yeah, I guess not,” Hinata tried to think of names that had something to do with flying. “Uh, I always thought something with ‘wind’ in it would be cool. Something mysterious, like, um. Wind of a Fast Wind!”

Kageyama gave him a look. “That has wind in it twice.”

“So?”

“So it sounds stupid.”

“You sound stupid.” Hinata stuck his tongue out, and Kageyama half-heartedly tried to pummel him. They gave up fighting after a few seconds, though, too calmed by exhaustion and alcohol to care about hitting each other.

“What about…” Kageyama put a hand to his chin, deep in thought, “The Flying…Fish!”

Again, Hinata was forced to double over in laughter. This time, Kageyama got defensive of his idea.

“It was the first thing that came to my mind!”

“Okay,” Hinata managed, now tearing up at the thought, “So we’re gonna be…Flying Fish, and The Mover.” Putting the two together sent him into another fit of laughter.

Apparently feeling like he was being made fun of, Kageyama grabbed Hinata, who felt the ground drop out beneath him as he was lifted into the air, still laughing.

“Kageyama, wait- ah!” he cried, and Kageyama tossed him up and onto his back. Making the best of the situation, Hinata wriggled around until he had his legs wrapped around the taller boy’s waist.

“Flying Fish and the Mover, the greatest Superhero duo ever known!” Hinata shouted, sticking his arms out like Superman as he rode on Kageyama’s back.

Kageyama tried to shake him off, but he was laughing now too. By this point, they had wandered into the small park, the path through it still illuminated by little lanterns that shed warm light on the grass. After a moments’ struggle, Kageyama fell into the grass, taking a happily shrieking Hinata down with him.

They landed awkwardly, with one of Hinata’s arms underneath Kageyama, and the other sprawled out in the cool, dark grass. Hinata was about to say something teasing, but the words fell apart in his mind when he met his partner’s dark eyes.

They were so close- so close, and so happy just being together that everything else was quickly and dangerously fading away. The soft light from the lanterns rested beautifully on Kageyama’s face, accentuating its lines and curves. He studied Hinata with the same earnest seriousness he’d given the naming problem, eyebrows knit together, and mouth pouting.

Being on the ground made Hinata realize how tired he was, and how heavily his body rested on the grass. It was that same, inevitable gravity that had him inching forward until their noses were brushing, and after noses, lips. Hinata felt hot breath in his mouth that wasn’t his own, and heat in his stomach, and, for an instant, the planets aligned.

Then Kageyama moved, stood so quickly that it left Hinata without breath when he realized the warm body next to him was gone.

“We should get to bed,” Kageyama said, and Hinata’s inability to understand the words made him wonder if he was falling asleep in the grass already. Had he been dreaming?

Strong hands slipped between him and the earth. After that, there was a shifting of gravity, the smell of Kageyama’s shoulder, the disappearance of the stars and, finally, a bed.

And Hinata was too far into sleep to notice when Kageyama was gone.

______________

They practiced late every night. When almost everyone had turned in to sleep, or study, or mess around with friends, Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio were still practicing. It would get dark, and the equipment would be shut down. But nothing would stop them.

That Friday night was no different. Both of them had slept all day recovering along with their friends from hangovers and a late night. Unlike their friends, they were both also recovering from a shared near-death experience. But that didn’t mean they were going to go an entire day without any training.

They sparred, and Hinata wondered about the previous night. It was distracting, trying to land kicks and punches onto Kageyama, when all he could think about was the brush of his lips, and if there was any way his brain could have imagined it. At eleven p.m., they called it quits for the night, and the separation was sour and corrosive in Hinata’s gut, because as long as he was around Kageyama, the possibility for resolution still existed.

They said goodbye at the dorms, and the Hinata’s sense of possibility began to crack.

__________________

The first thing Kageyama noticed was the noise.

Walking to the Hero dorms, Kageyama’s mind was a mess of confusion. His hand was almost on the doorknob when he began to hear strange sounds. There was a metallic clanging, followed by a buzzing sound like a drill. After that, low curses uttered in a voice that Kageyama knew too well. Taken together, these were not things that Kageyama could ignore, so he went to look around the platform.

“Oikawa-san?”

The third year looked up at Kageyama. Looked up, because he was standing with his legs in the hatch that led into the escape pod. His back was turned from Kageyama, and he flinched so violently at the sound of his voice that he dropped something, and it went clanking noisily down into the cockpit.

“Shit!” Oikawa cursed, turning to look at Kageyama with wild, furious eyes, “What the hell are you doing out here? Don’t you know what fucking time it is?”

“What…” Kageyama took in Oikawa’s unusually messy hair, the streak of what looked like oil on his face, “What are you doing in my district’s escape pod?”

“None of your business, Tobio-chan!” he snarled, “Although I guess there’s no way you won’t ruin me now. I should have known that if anyone messed this up, it would be you!”

Oikawa laughed a dry, sarcastic laugh that made Kageyama’s hairs stand on end. “Are you…trying to go somewhere?” he asked.

“If I was, why do you think I would tell you, hm?”

Kageyama’s expression hardened. “Because I’ll go get someone if you don’t.”

Oikawa looked like a trapped animal. “And how do I know you won’t do that anyway?” he snapped.

“You don’t.”

Oikawa rolled his eyes, “Have I ever told you how annoying you are?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Oikawa studied him, seeming to weigh his options. Finally, he sighed, “Fine. But get down here where no one will see us, if you’re going to slow me down. So inconvenient, Tobio-chan….”

“Aren’t there security cameras?” Kageyama wondered as he followed Oikawa down the ladder into the escape pod. Inside, a lamp on the floor cast an orange glow on the metal walls. All kinds of hatches were open and wires showing that hadn’t been there before. Kageyama thought about the last time he’d been down here, and felt a cold shudder run up his spine.

“I deactivated them. The one on you platform are easier to get to than mine.” Oikawa wiped his brow with the back of his hand, sweating despite the chilly October weather. He went back to twisting wires and pulling levers, and Kageyama couldn’t help but watch, fascinated by all of these things he didn’t understand.

“This is about her, isn’t it?” Kageyama asked. He’d known that there was something going on ever since the obstacle course- Oikawa’s mysterious new power, and then that sudden look of panic, a distraction that sent him careening over the ledge. A distraction that seemed like it was coming from Oikawa’s own mind.

When Oikawa didn’t answer, continuing to focus on his task, Kageyama took a step further. “Has…has she been contacting you, Oikawa-san? Like before?”

There was a startling metallic ‘clank’ as Oikawa dropped one of his tools on the floor, cursing. “You really are an annoying ass, aren’t you?” he mumbled.

“So it’s true,” Kageyama’s throat went dry at the thought, “But she’s supposed to be-”

“Dead?” Oikawa finally looked up, light brown eyes staring through Kageyama in a too-familiar way. Kageyama turned away, know that he’d always been particularly bad at keeping his mind free of things he didn’t want the older boy to know.

“They lied,” he said. It was like his most irrational and paranoid suspicions were becoming real. After all this time trying to feel safe again….

Oikawa went back to trying to get the pod to start. When he spoke, it was through teeth clenched together with anger, “Someone kidnaps and tortures a few dozen kids, kills some famous Heroes along the way...no one wants to hear that someone like that’s still alive. But Heroes are dying out. And she has the brilliant solution.”

On the word “solution” he tore through a wire with ferocity, and the lights of the escape pod flickered on. A mechanical hum started along with them. Oikawa had done it.

“They kept her under high security, of course,” he continued, strolling over to the controls as if it were no big deal that he’d just jump-started a thoroughly restricted piece of school property, “But with all that equipment at her disposal- what’s to stop her from just giving herself every power she can think of, and busting out?”

Oikawa laughed bitterly. Kageyama’s blood felt like ice.

“Oikawa,” he said, the situation hitting him with intensity, “You can’t do this. She’ll kill you- there’s no way you can stop her.”

“And why is that, Tobio-chan?” Oikawa snarled, “Because I’m just a side-kick? Or because you think I’m not strong enough to resist her?”

“That isn’t what I meant.”

“Sure it isn’t,” Oikawa looked over his shoulder at Kageyama- he could see a challenge in his eyes, but he could see fear, too. “Well, Kageyama Tobio? Are you going to go turn me in or not?” Kageyama wondered why he even had to ask; maybe because Kageyama’s thoughts were so tangled that they couldn’t be read.

“No,” he said once he’d untangled them, his mind made up, “I’m going with you.”

Oikawa scoffed, “No way.”

“If we go together, we might have a chance. Please, Oikawa-san.”

Oikawa groaned, rubbing his hands over his face, “You are the worst. But I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“No,” Kageyama agreed, “You don’t.”

The look Oikawa gave him was searching, and of course Kageyama’s mind jumped to the thing that he least wanted him to see. A smirk spread across Oikawa’s face.

“Oh, but what about Chibi-chan, huh? I bet he won’t be too happy when he finds out you ran off without even telling him….”

Like usual, Oikawa had a point. Going to do this, and not offering to take Hinata with him, would likely destroy whatever friendship or…anything, that they had managed to build with each other. It would mean ruining one of the only close relationships he’d ever had.

And that was assuming he even survived.

“You know, it’s funny,” Oikawa said casually, “I never imagined you’d be the type to rely on someone so much.”

Kageyama grit his teeth. All of the soft images of Hinata Shouyou that had started flitting through his mind came to a halt. He forced himself to only think of what hadn’t crossed his mind in over a year.

Revenge.

“I’m not,” he growled, “Let’s go.”

______________

“I don’t know,” Hinata groaned, his face pressed into the flowery-smelling fabric of Yachi’s bed in distress, “I’ve never been this confused in my whole life. Help me, Hito-chan!”

Yachi turned away from her homework to give her friend a sympathetic look. “I don’t know. I really think you should just talk to him about it.”

Hinata groaned even louder and more dramatically than he had before. He sat up on the bed, hugging his best friend’s pillow to himself, “Are you hearing yourself? Have you ever tried to have a conversation with Kageyama Tobio?”

Yachi laughed, and Hinata smiled. He was frustrated, and confused, and hurt at Kageyama’s distance after Thursday night.

He was also ridiculously, deliriously happy.

“Stop squirming,” Yachi chided, still smiling, “You’re messing my bed up so bad!”

“Sorry! I can’t keep still.” Hinata illustrated this by hopping out of the bed and bouncing around. His stomach was flip-flopping, and his skin prickled with energy. He remembered feeling this way about a girl he’d known in high school- that sense of reality and possibility throwing him into overdrive. But this had been sudden and unexpected. This had tilted his entire world on its axis.

“I might not even like him,” Hinata said, stopping his bouncing all at once.

Yachi gave him a skeptical look, “Seriously?”

“Gah! I told you, I don’t know! It’s weird. And worst of all is I got super drunk so I don’t even know if I was like, dreaming or something…ugh. This is terrible. This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me!”

“You’re grinning from ear to ear.”

“Ugh,” Hinata fell onto to floor, covering his face with his hands, “I think I’m actually dying.”

“Don’t die, Shouyou. I’d miss you!”

They both cracked up after that, and Hinata couldn’t help but feel a little more hopeful.

After all, he wasn’t the type to give up on the things that he loved.

_____________

The front of the escape-pod was mostly glass, allowing whoever was driving to see out into the open sky. As they flew, it was hard to see anything through the dark night. But Oikawa explained that he knew the coordinates, so all he had to do was follow the black and green monitor by the pilot’s seat.

Kageyama already knew all about Oikawa’s mental link with their enemy. When they had still been trapped, Oikawa had been the oldest of them, and she’d used his powers to manipulate him. He’d been there as her right hand, and was always watching everyone else to make sure they weren’t trying anything until eventually, Oikawa had built up a resistance to the mind control.

He knew that what had happened wasn’t Oikawa’s fault, and that he was just as much a victim as Kageyama. But it was still hard to shake when the first thing he’d known about the third year was to fear him.

It was nearly an hour before the pod began to slow. A millennium to spend in tense silence with Oikawa…but much too close to Sora for Kageyama’s comfort. Whatever she was planning, the school had to be a part of it.

Another reason why Kageyama had to stop her.

“There it is,” Oikawa whispered, like he was worried they would hear him.

Looking out of the window, he wondered what Oikawa was talking about. They were still miles in the air. There was nothing in front of them.

Until a metal hatch swung open out of thin air.

The opening glowed with artificial light, signaling an inhabited space behind it. But to Kageyama, nothing else was visible.

Oikawa’s knuckles were white against the controls.

“Um…” Kageyama was uneasy, “Are we going in the front door?”

“Don’t worry, Tobio-chan,” Oikawa said, “It’s all part of the plan.” He turned to face Kageyama, away from the controls, but the pod continued its journey through the hatch, like it was being sucked in. Kageyama’s skin prickled.

It wasn’t until they entered the structure and he saw the rows of armed guards waiting for them that Kageyama moved, trying to incapacitate Oikawa with his powers. But just like on the course, he hit a wall, unable to influence the space around him. This time, it was even stronger- a force that he couldn't hope to fight.

“Nice try, Tobio-chan.”

“Oikawa,” Kageyama gasped, “You don’t want to do this.”

“What I want doesn’t matter,” Oikawa said, his expression blank. If Kageyama weren’t so terrified, he would have been very, very sad for him.

Oikawa turned him around, easily fighting off Kageyama’s struggles with two more years of combat experience, and god knows what else, now. He strapped him into a strange pair of shackles that hummed with power against Kageyama’s skin.

“Don’t bother trying any of that again,” Oikawa instructed, but the explanation was unnecessary. Kageyama could feel the absence of his powers as clearly and physically as the loss of a limb.

All he could do was get pulled into the fortress, two guards grabbing him the moment they stepped out of the escape pod. They led Kageyama through grey, spaceship-like corridors, until they reached a room full of jail cells, Oikawa by his side the entire time. All of the cells seemed to be empty. Kageyama feared that they were planning to get them all filled.

They threw him into a cell hard enough for him to hear the bones in one of his bound wrists crack. The floor was white and clean, and the bars of the cell glowed with an eerie, unnatural white light. There were no windows.

“Why is she doing this?” he yelled at Oikawa through the pain in his wrist, desperate not to be left alone there to die, “Why kidnap me?”

Oikawa smiled, so close to his regular smile but so, so different. “As bait, of course,” he said, “And we knew you would be easy to trick. Ciao, Tobio-chan!”

They turned away, and started down the corridor. “Wait!” Kageyama shouted, but it was too late. As his predicament sunk in, he felt his throat close with panic.

Kageyama was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D:
> 
> ...Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm having such a great time writing this story, and thank you for commenting and leaving kudos and making it such a great experience! You're the best.


	7. Powerless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! So this fic is getting close to the end; there should be one or two more chapters, depending on if I decide to write an epilogue (I do like epilogues so I probably will). This chapter gave me some trouble, and I had to cut it off a little earlier than i was planning because it was just going to be way longer than I wanted it to be. But I hope you love it, and as always, thank you so much for your support!!

Hinata spent the night dreaming, but not sleeping.

This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for him- there were many nights he’d lain awake through, shifting around the limited space of his bed, mind running like a horse race with whatever he was excited about. Birthdays, holidays, matches…they all amplified Hinata’s already overflowing enthusiasm for life. Anticipation kept him conscious. Aspiration was the air that he breathed.

What pulled Hinata away from the heavy lure of sleep that night were thoughts of Kageyama Tobio. They were a jumble of different kinds of thoughts: memories of disastrous early encounters, possible insights, and shy glances into the future. He tried to push them away, but they snuck back around, evasive and slippery. Eventually, he was too tired to even feel embarrassed by them.

When he finally slept, he dreamed of taking down villains with Kageyama by his side.

____

“What’s going on?” Hinata called over the alarms. They blared again and again, sounding like a foghorn mixed with a pack of screaming banshees. Did they really have to be so obnoxious? And did they have to go off this early?

The sidekicks of the Orange District students had really tightened up their emergency protocol since…well, since that first time. Now they all met up in the lounge, ready to head out together. Almost all of them seemed unconcerned, still half-asleep and dazed, but Sugawara’s eyebrows were knit together with worry.

“I don’t know,” he called, “Probably just a drill, but we should get going! Is everyone here?”

Hinata looked around. Yachi was next to him, worrying at her lower lip; Hinata could almost hear all of the worst case scenarios playing in her mind. Asahi, too, looked less than calm- but since he tended to clam up when he was panicking, it was less noticeable. It seemed like everyone was there, except….

“Where’s Yamaguchi-kun?” Michimiya yelled in Suga’s ear. Their Student Leader’s soft brown eyes scanned the room, widening a little when he didn’t see Yamaguchi.

Someone ran back into the hallway. “He isn’t in his room!” they called several seconds later. Hinata couldn’t hear, but he thought that Suga might have actually cursed. He was sorry he missed it.

“Just go!” Suga instructed, “Get to the escape pod! I’ll try to text him.”

Before any of them could obey, the alarms cut off abruptly, leaving Hinata’s ears with a ringing emptiness.

“So…can we go back to sleep now?” one of the students asked. He was answered by the crackling of the intercom on the wall.

“Attention students, attention students,” the speaker blared in a blunt, commanding voice, “There has been a security breach on housing platform three. Please remain in your dorms while the situation is assessed. I repeat, do not leave your dorms under any circumstances.”

They all stood in stunned silence. Never had they been instructed not to go outside.

“Platform three,” Asahi said, eyes wide, “Which one is that?”

“Us,” Suga answered simply.

“Oh. Great.”

Hinata felt Yachi’s hand close on the fabric of his t-shirt. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he couldn’t help but worry about Yamaguchi, out there in unknown circumstances.

Sugawara had taken out his cell phone. “Hey,” he said, “Is everything okay over there? Do you know anything?”

He must have been talking to Daichi. Hinata focused intently on what he was saying, hoping that he could figure out what was going on.

“No, not everyone,” Suga continued after a pause, “Yamaguchi isn’t here, and he isn’t answering his phone. I don’t know where he would be this early…oh, really? Well, I wouldn’t put it past him to be out training.”

Hinata’s heart sped up, a sharp feeling of panic in his chest. It sounded like not everyone was accounted for at the Hero’s dorm, either.

“Yeah, I’ll let you know,” Suga said into the receiver. A small smile turned up his lips, “You too. Let me know if anything changes.”

He took the phone away from his ear, gentle worry pulling down the corners of his lips. The worry of not knowing what was happening- and knowing that it could be nothing, or it could be everything. Limbo.

“They don’t know anything either,” Suga said, “I guess the only thing we can do right now is wait.”

“But what about Yamaguchi-kun?” Yachi asked, voice trembling.

A rush of soothing emotion overtook them, Suga not even trying to disguise his influence. Hinata sighed, the supernatural comfort in his chest fighting against the worry in his head.

“Everything will be fine,” Suga assured them, “I don’t like not knowing where everyone is, but I’m sure the staff are taking care of everything.”

Hinata couldn’t hold himself back anymore. “Who’s missing from the Hero dorm?”

His words caused another anxious pause from everyone, wide eyes and held breaths winning out over Sugawara’s soothing. Hinata couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty over the pounding of his own heart in his ears.

Sugawara looked at him cautiously.

“It’s Kageyama. But, like I said, I’m sure everything is-”

“Fine,” Hinata snapped, face hot, “Yeah.”

But he knew, in the pit of his stomach, that everything wasn’t. Yachi wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

A sudden sound made everyone jump. Hinata’s heart climbed into his throat, but then he realized that it was just someone knocking on the door.

Suga pushed himself forward to answer it. Standing in the doorway were Ukai and Takeda- and with them, looking very sheepish, was Yamaguchi.

“There you are,” Suga’s relieved exhale told Hinata that he hadn’t been as unconcerned as he’d been acting.

Ukai’s face was as grave as Hinata had ever seen it. “He was out on the training field.”

“At four in the morning? _Alone?_ ”

Yamaguchi rubbed the back of his neck, but he looked more shaken than guilty, “I’ve been trying to get in some extra target practice…sorry.”

Sugawara shook his head, “No, it’s fine. What’s going on?” The last part was said to the two head teachers. Everyone stared at them, desperate for information.

They shared a sideways look. Finally, Takeda said, “Our escape pod is missing. It may have just malfunctioned and shot off on its own, but apparently all of the tracking devices have been disabled. So it seems like someone has taken it.”

“So that’s what this is about?” Ennoshita asked from his spot on one of the couches, “Someone took an escape pod for a joyride?”

“Maybe,” Ukai said, “The dean is trying to get a count of everyone here to find out who did it. The faculty are already accounted for, and no student should have been able to mess with the systems like that. This is very serious.”

“But I’m sure we’ll get it all sorted out,” Takeda interrupted, seeing the looks on their faces, “We just need to make sure you’re all here, and then you can go back to sleep. Okay?”

____

Hinata pushed his breakfast around on his plate. He was tired and restless, jitters humming in muscles too sleep-deprived to do anything about them. Around the table, Yachi, Yamaguchi, and even Tsukishima watched him with varying levels of concern.

Not much more information had been passed on to the student body since the alarms had gone off several hours before. They knew what they needed to know- that someone had nabbed an escape pod, that they couldn’t track it, and that two students were still unaccounted for. Everyone was instructed to keep their eyes out, but otherwise they could go about their normal lives. What more was there to do? What more was there to say?

The problem was that none of it made any sense to Hinata. Maybe the dean could believe that Oikawa Tooru and Kageyama Tobio had decided to plan some rebellious flight to an exciting location, but Hinata certainly couldn’t. Neither could anyone who knew either of them.

Hinata’s spoon made a loud sound as he slammed it back onto his tray. “I’m done eating,” he declared, standing quickly. He couldn’t sit around and wait anymore.

Of course, Yachi stopped him on his way out of the cafeteria, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Hinata knew he didn’t look it, “I just need to talk to someone. They don’t understand how wrong this is.”

She nodded, and he was thankful that she understood. He emptied his tray in the garbage, and left in search of someone who might listen to him.

Who he found was Takeda. The professors usually were out of sight on the weekends, either hiding out in their homes in the village on campus, or in barely-lived in apartments down below, or in their offices, noses in all sorts of personal projects. Today, they patrolled the campus like troopers, searching for any signs of the students who’d gone missing.

A cluster of professors hovered near the main building, talking low, serious voices and casting looks out into the endless blue sky. Sometimes, glimmers of how much most of the staff came to care about their students here would reach them, bubbles from far below finally breaking on the surface. Hinata saw a terrible fear in some of the professors’ eyes.

“Uh, Takeda-sensei?” Hinata interjected, too preoccupied to worry about being rude. The professor turned surprised eyes in Hinata’s direction.

“Oh, Hinata!” he said, “Do you need help with something?”

He was giving Hinata one of those looks, the kind with understanding and a little bit of pity that he was too used to seeing from people older than him. It made his throat feel a little thick to have someone look at him like he’d lost someone else. _Poor Hinata Shouyou._

Hinata did his best to shake it off. “Yeah, um, can I talk to you? Just for a minute.”

Takeda hesitated for a second before nodding, “Of course.”

They walked a short distance away from the other professors, Takeda looking patient, and Hinata running through his what he planned to say in his mind. Of course, it all just shot out of his mouth in a mess anyway.

“Kageyama wouldn’t do something like this,” he said, “I mean, I know they want to just say that they were messing around or something, but they wouldn’t. I mean, first of all, Kageyama and Oikawa hate each other! It just doesn’t make any sense. Something isn’t right.”

“I…don’t think you’re wrong about that, Hinata,” Takeda said after a beat, tentative. Hinata looked up at his teacher, surprised at the affirmative.

“So you do think something bad happened to them,” even though he’d been sure of this already, Hinata couldn’t stop his voice from wavering.

Takeda gave him a shaky smile, “I didn’t say that. But, as someone who knows Kageyama, I do think it’s strange.”

“Then we have to do something!” Hinata’s shout rang out a little too loudly, but he didn’t care. Kageyama was in trouble; he could feel it in his bones. There was no time for being delicate.

The young professor surprised Hinata by putting his hand on his shoulder. “We are doing something, Hinata,” he assured him, “I promise you that. The dean is doing everything he can- you just need to trust us. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Hinata slipped out from under Takeda’s hand, frustrated, “Thanks.”

“We’ve talked about this, Hinata,” Takeda said as he turned to walk away, “About you being impatient to prove yourself. For the next few years, you’re in training. Leave these things to us until then. Your time will come.”

Hinata stormed away, fists clenched at his sides. He knew that Takeda meant well, but he couldn’t understand the fire burning just underneath his skin.

Someone he cared about was in danger.

And, to Hinata, that meant that his time was already here.

_____

Back in his dorm, Hinata fought the anger and frustration of not being able to do anything. After a moment of staring at the white walls, he threw himself onto his bed, pummeling his pillow with violent aggression. When he tired himself out, he laid with his face in the fabric. How could they make him feel so powerless?

A sudden flash of white left Hinata stumbling, gripping onto the back of his desk chair for support. In high school, he’d fallen during volleyball practice and hurt his ankle, the shock causing him to black out. What he experienced now reminded him of that- his mind ripped away from the physical world, disconnected thoughts and images floating through his mind.

He saw a huge metal fortress in the sky, surrounded by clouds. Then he saw Oikawa Tooru, in a room full of machines, trying to say something. He flickered, fading in and out of Hinata’s consciousness, but eventually managed to get his message across: a string of numbers that had no meaning to Hinata.

Crashing back to his dorm room, Hinata struggled to remain on his feet. He scrambled to find a pen and write down the numbers that, he was sure, Oikawa Tooru had sent him with his mind.

_____

“They’re coordinates,” Yachi said, squinting at the numbers on the paper, “Where did you get this?”

Hinata didn’t answer at first, his mind too full of possibilities to focus on his friend. “Uh,” he said after a moment, “I just got these pictures in my head all of a sudden. A big building in the sky, and Oikawa saying the numbers to me. I think he was telling me to go there.”

Yachi but her lip, “I mean, I guess that’s possible. Suga-san’s powers work two ways sometimes… Hinata? Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Hinata snapped out of his daze.

“Are you alright? You were looking really…serious.”

“It’s nothing.”

Brown eyes continued to study him, and Hinata looked away, knowing that he was bad at keeping his expression unreadable. It didn’t take long for a look of horrified understanding to dawn on Yachi’s face.

“Hinata you can’t!” she squeaked, “You can’t be thinking-”

“I’m not thinking anything!” Hinata snapped, ignoring how that sounded. He could only imagine Kageyama telling him that he was _never_ thinking anything, and that just made him angrier. And sadder.

It wasn’t often that Yachi looked as hard and serious as a cinderblock. This was one of those times.

“Yes you are! I know that look on your face. You’re thinking about going where these coordinates take you to try and find Kageyama! But you can’t, Shouyou,” her voice broke, tears forming in her eyes. For a moment, Hinata felt guilty enough that he almost appeased her.

But he wasn’t in a state to be making compromises. “I have to, Yachi,” he said, looking her straight in the eyes, “I can’t let them…I can’t let them take him. I can’t do it again.”

He turned away, not wanting his friend to see his tears.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “I know, Shouyou,” Yachi said, “But putting yourself in danger isn’t going to help him! If anyone can do it, it’s the staff. I’m sorry, but you need to sit this one out, okay? Besides, for all we know, Oikawa could be leading you straight into a trap.”

Hinata said nothing, refusing to meet Yachi’s eyes. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d been angrier at her- and it probably wasn’t even fair, because what did he expect her to do? Let him run off and try to take down some powerful supervillain all by himself? But even though he knew that she was right, he couldn’t handle the things she was telling him. That there was nothing he could do. That he was powerless.

The hand on his arm gripped tighter, urgency flowing through the fingers like an electric current. “Promise me you won’t go,” Yachi begged him. She knew him better than anyone.

“Fine,” he snapped, jerking himself away from her grip.

“Do you _promise?_ ” Yachi’s voice was full of tears.

“Yeah,” Hinata said thickly, “Yeah, fine. I won’t go, okay? I promise.”

Yachi flung her arms around him. Her warmth was soft and comforting; it reminded him of lazy summer afternoons, of stopping for snacks together after school, of lying awake in bed, sharing secrets.

Breathing in, he crushed himself around her, trying not to think about how he was going to break his promise.

______

The night fell, crisp and eerily quiet. Hinata didn’t sleep; he just sat in his room, watching the shadows lengthen and clutching the now worn piece of paper with the coordinates in his hand. Every hour since his conversation with Yachi had been a waking nightmare. If there was anything that Hinata couldn’t do, it was wait.

When it was finally late enough that he could slip out of the dorm without running into anyone, Hinata stuck the piece of paper in his pocket. After a moment of debating over what to do with his phone, he decided to leave it. It could probably be used to track him, and it wasn’t like they would let him have it if he was captured. Or worse.

Hinata shivered, and picked up a hoodie that he’d thrown over his desk chair. He took one last, lingering look around his dorm room, a sick, empty feeling in his gut as he imagined the possibility of never seeing it again. Thinking of his mother and Natsu, he almost turned around and went to bed, but the urge pulling him out of the door was too strong to be resisted. He considered leaving a note for them, but knew that he couldn’t. Not without coming to his senses.

Hinata didn’t want to come to his senses.

The door creaked as he opened it. Hinata looked in either direction to make sure no one was still awake, before stepping out into the hallway.

And immediately tripping on something big and lumpy.

“Augh!” Hinata shouted, struggling to catch his balance. He immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, looking around to make sure no one had heard. There was a groan from the floor, and Hinata looked down to see what he’d tripped over.

“Hitoka-chan?” Hinata wondered. Sure enough, Yachi was sitting on the floor, clutching a spot on her side that was probably where Hinata’s foot had struck her. Normally, he would apologize, but he was too stunned.

“Ugh,” Yachi groaned, rubbing her eyes, “I guess I feel asleep...augh! That’s so annoying!” She slapped her cheeks in self-aggravation. Then she looked up at Hinata, her eyes accusatory.

“I knew you were lying to me!”

The hurt in her voice made Hinata’s chest clench with guilt. He reached down to help her up, but she ignored him, standing on her own.

“I can’t believe you! Or, I guess I can, because this is exactly the kind of reckless thing you would do. But I didn’t think that you would ever lie to me like that.”

“Hitoka…I’m so sorry….”

Yachi sighed. “W-well,” she said, “I’m not going to let you do this on your own.”

Hinata winced, knowing what was coming. Yachi was going to go get Suga, and he was going to get the lecture of his lifetime, and they were going to have him under lock and key for the rest of the semester….

“So I’ll go with you.”

Hinata’s mouth popped open. “W-what?”

Yachi crossed her arms across her chest, looking scared, but determined, “I know you’re going to go no matter what I say! I know you. Besides, I kind of um, remembered the coordinates on the paper, and I think I can figure out how to navigate us there.”

She bent down and picked up her notebook- the light blue one with teddy bears and plastic gemstones on the cover. Quickly flipping to the right page, she slammed her finger down on a pasted-in map of the area surrounding (and underneath) Sora University. There were numbers and lines in red running across the map, and a little sparkly star sticker near where Yachi held her finger. Scrawled into the margins were notes about landmarks, and what should be underneath the floating fortress.

A shocked wave of embarrassment hit Hinata as he realized he’s been about to leave without even knowing how to follow coordinates.

“Yachi…” he stared, struggling to find the appropriate words, “I don’t…I mean, I can’t ask you to-"

“Shh!” Yachi covered his mouth with her hand, startling him, “Stop it! I’m coming with you, but the more we stand here and talk, the more time I have to think about how this is a terrible idea and how we’re both going to die and-” She stopped herself, taking her hand off of Hinata’s mouth and shaking her head around.

Hinata couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto his face, “Alright! Let’s get going then.”

Yachi took a deep breath before nodding.

“And Yachi?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

______

They almost made it to the practice net without getting caught. This part, the escaping part, Hinata had thought ahead about. He might not be able to hotwire an escape pod, but he’d spent enough time on the training platform to know of any little weaknesses in the school’s defenses.

Also, he could fly. That was a pretty big advantage, too.

Hinata knew that there was a small opening where the gears to bring out the training net extended from the platform. Since the fields covering the school only covered the top, like the dome over a snow globe, they should be able to wiggle out of that spot and into the open air.

The only problem was, the training platform seemed to be occupied.

“What the hell are they doing out here so late?” Hinata hissed when he saw Tsukishima and Yamaguchi out on the field, the telltale glow of Tsukki’s force fields lighting up the night.

“Yamaguchi was out training early in the morning yesterday….”

Unable to hold back his annoyance, Hinata let out a frustrated growl, aiming a kick at the turf. Yachi put a hand on his arm to still him, but it was too late- the other first years heard him. Their heads snapped up at the sound.

“Yachi-san?” Yamaguchi wondered, bow in hand, his freckled face lit up with an eerie glow by Tsukki’s green field. Hinata realized that he was only providing light; Yamaguchi was the one really practicing.

Tsukishima had on eyebrow arched in suspicion as he looked between the two of them. “What are you doing?” he asked, in a way that made Hinata suspect that he knew exactly what they were doing.

“Same as you,” Hinata spat, “Training.”

“Oh,” Yamaguchi said, looking between them, “Well, you can hang around us if you need any light-”

“They aren’t out here to train,” Tsukishima cut him off. “They’re going to go off and try and rescue Kageyama.”

Yamaguchi’s eyes went wide, “W-what? You’re not really doing that, are you? How would even know where to find him?”

“It’s none of your business,” Hinata was talking to Tsukki, “I can’t just sit around doing nothing.”

Hinata took a step forward, only to find that Tsukishima had moved to block his path. He glared up at the taller boy, seething.

“G-guys…” Yamaguchi stammered, just as Yachi said, “Don’t fight!”

Tsukishima stepped back with a sigh, “I can’t just let you run off like this. I thought you would know better, Yachi.”

Yachi turned scarlet, and Hinata fought the urge to just kick Tsukishima in the groin and make a run for it. The guy really knew how to get under his skin.

“Just because you don’t care enough about anyone to do something like this, doesn’t mean that-”

Hinata was cut off by a hard blow to his chest. At first, he wasn’t sure what had happened- it felt like someone had just thrown a rock at him- bit then he realized that Tsukishima had shoved him with both hands, sending him flying back to land on his butt on the grass.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi cried, but Hinata could hardly hear him over the rage rushing in his ears. _If this fails,_ he thought to himself, _it’s not gonna be because of Tsukishima Kei._

But when he ran to charge at Tsukishima, a sound of rage tearing from his throat, he slammed into a solid, crackling barrier. Looking up from where he’d once again fallen, Hinata saw Tsukishima glaring down at him behind a shimmering curtain of green, all stone-cold composure like Hinata hadn’t pushed him to violence just a moment before. The light from the field make Tsukishima’s face look gaunt and pale, all glowing peaks and shadowy valleys.

“Why the hell do you think I’m not letting you do this?” he said, in that way of his that was flat, but simmering underneath, “If I wanted you die, I would just let you go. Because that’s what will happen if you do.”

Yamaguchi, who was on Tsukishima’s side of the force field, gave Hinata a pleading look. “I think he’s right, guys. You can’t do this. The staff will sort it out, or if it’s more serious, the government and the heroes will.”

“We can’t trust them, Yamaguchi,” Yachi surprised Hinata by speaking up next to him, her voice quiet but unwavering, like she was breaking sad news to a young child, “I don’t…I don’t think we can trust any of them, anymore. I’ve been thinking about it since the obstacle course. I think, whatever is going on, the dean is involved. I don’t think anyone is coming to Kageyama and Oikawa-san’s rescue any time soon.”

They all stared at her in shock, even Hinata. She hadn’t mentioned any of this to him. How long had she suspected a conspiracy? Not only that, but knowing his friend, there were definitely some more dots she’d connected that he hadn’t seen.

It was Yamaguchi who broke the silence, “Well, if you two are going, then I’m going with you.”

Tsukishima’s eyes widened, “What? Yamaguchi- no one is going anywhere! This is ridiculous.”

“He’s our friend, Tsukki.”

Tsukishima made a noise in the back of his throat like a cat with a hairball- Hinata wasn’t sure if it was at the concept of Yamaguchi going off on a dangerous mission, or the implication that Kageyama was his friend.

E

ither way, Hinata did not like the direction this conversation was headed. “No way,” he said, “No one else is coming with us. Besides, Yachi can ride on my shoulder while I fly. There’s no way to get you there, Yamaguchi.”

“Well…” Yachi looked like she was already guilty for what she was about to say, “Tsukishima can ride his force fields now, right? I saw him do it during Save the Citizen. He could probably make one big enough for him and Yamaguchi-kun.”

Yamaguchi stared at Tsukki, who looked around at them like they’d all just sprouted antennae and started dancing around the training field. He put a hand to his forehead, and the force field separating them shrunk until it was just big enough to cast it’s shifting glow over all of them.

“I can’t believe any of you are considering this,” he said flatly, “I’m going to tell Ukai.”

“We’ll be gone by the time you get back,” Hinata met Tsukishima’s eyes with steady certainty.

Yamaguchi put a hand on Tsukishima’s arm, drawing his attention, which was always a little bit softer when focused on Yamaguchi, “Tsukki. They’re going to go no matter what we do. We have to help them.”

“No, you don’t,” Hinata snapped, “I don’t want your help! It’s bad enough that I’m putting Yachi in danger-”

“I want to help you, Hinata! So does Yamaguchi, why can’t you-”

“Stop it,” Tsukishima ordered, so commanding that even Hinata shut his mouth. He took a deep breath, looking like he couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “How…how do you know where you’re going? Or were you just going to shoot off into the sky and hope for the best?”

Hinata’s mouth was too busy gaping to answer, so Yachi assisted, “He had…a vision. He thinks that Oikawa can communicate mentally. Anyway, he heard coordinates. I figured out how to navigate us there.”

Tsukishima pressed his fingers to his temples, “Great. Very reliable.” Then, after heaving a great, burdened sigh, “Well, if we’re going, we have to go now. I’m assuming you wanted to crawl out through the training net?”

Yamaguchi beamed, “Tsukki!”

“I said, this isn’t happening!” Hinata insisted. The idea of having some backup going into the dangerous unknown was, in a secret part of his mind, desperately appealing. But he couldn’t let any more of his friends get tangled up in what he knew was a reckless and dangerous mission.

Yachi touched his arm. “Hinata, please. They’re offering to help. Let them.”

Looking over his shoulder at the school, quiet and sleeping but still a bomb about to go off if anyone realized they’d gone, Hinata just wanted to go. There was an ache in his chest that pulled him to Kageyama like a fishing hook, a combination of duty and emotion that wouldn’t let him rest until they were reunited again. Whatever may happen after that.

“Fine,” Hinata managed, “Um, thanks. But we have to get going now.”

_____

It was pretty unfair that Tsukishima could use his power to fly.

That’s what Hinata was thinking as they soared through the frigid night air. Tsukishima maintained a horizontal field big enough to carry himself and Yamaguchi with what appeared to be no effort at all (although that might have just been the cool persona he worked hard to achieve at all times). As an added bonus, the field provided light in the dense black of the night sky.

A squeak in his ear told Hinata that he was heading in the right direction. Yachi, in the form of a tawny mouse, was clinging to Hinata’s shoulder with all of her might. He kept checking on her, worried that the wind would whisk her away in this tiny form, but her claws were dug in tightly. Every once in a while, Hinata would waver on a current of wind, still not completely steady on the air, and she would squeal in terror.

“S-so,” Yamaguchi stared straight upwards, not looking at the world below that he could see through Tsukki’s transparent force field, “Do you guys have, like, a plan? For when we get there?”

Hinata shrugged, causing Yachi to squeak in fear on his shoulders. He whispered and apology to her, then turned to Yamaguchi, “Um, well we don’t really know what we’re gonna find when we get there so. We’re gonna wing it?”

“Oh. Great.”

Two squeaks sounded in Hinata’s ear, and he instructed his ragtag team to turn left. Up ahead, only thick, numbing darkness stretched before him. But below, lights and towns and landmarks helped Yachi figure out where they were going.

T

he wind mussed Hinata’s hair, and soon he couldn’t feel the tips of his ears for the cold. A part of him reveled in the newfound freedom of the open air. The rest could do nothing but stare directly ahead, as if he could see to Kageyama through miles of black.

After nearly an hour of riding in discomfort-induced quiet (none of them wanting to unclench their frozen jaws) Yachi squeaked five times in Hinata’s ear.

“Stop,” Hinata instructed, fighting against his chattering teeth, “We’re here.”

Tsukishima stared out into the empty night sky, “It’s a lot more…nonexistent than I expected. No, actually, it’s just as nonexistent as I expected.”

“Maybe it’s cloaked?” Yamaguchi said helpfully.

“Or maybe Hinata took us hear because of a bad dream.”

“I didn’t ask you to come anywhere,” Hinata mumbled, flying cautiously forward. _Cloaked…._

Pushing himself forward, Hinata thought that he could feel something- like a subtle hum of power radiating from the space in front of him.

“This is it,” Hinata said, just loudly enough that his friends could hear him, “Yamaguchi, Tsukki…I need you to both go down below where they can’t see you. It’ll be easier to break in with less of us, and that way you can go get help if we don’t come out after a while.”

Tsukki clicked his tongue at being ordered around, but didn’t protest. Yamaguchi was hesitant, but eventually whished them luck, assuring them that he and Tsukki would be there if they needed them, and they started a gentle descent to the ground.

Hinata turned to Yachi on his shoulder, “You should stay in that form. Then you won’t get captured, and you can get me out of trouble.”

Yachi squeaked, and Hinata smiled, taking that as an ‘okay’.

Before he could decide what to do, a whirring sound made Hinata look back to the seemingly empty spot in front of him. Suddenly, a tugging, insistent force began pulling Hinata in, like a current that caught him by surprise- a riptide in the sky.

Yachi’s little claws scrambled in fear on Hinata’s shoulder. He struggled to pull away from the beam, but it was too strong. It pulled him along helplessly until a large square of bright, white light opened in the middle of the sky.

No turning back now, Hinata thought as he was pulled into the floating doorway.

What greeted him when he entered was, if he was being honest, a little bit of a letdown from what he’d imagined his first real Supervillain headquarters would be like. The chamber the entrance let into was grey and utilitarian, with low, slanted ceilings covered in visible pipes and vents. An alarm was sounding, and flashing red light pulsed from lightbulbs in little cages.

Hinata wondered if the evil thrones and alligator pits were in another room.

Instead of an army of uniformed minions, they were met by five or six people in what looked like lab uniforms, thick goggles mussing their hair, and bizarre, space-age looking pistols in their hands.

“Take him to a cell,” one of them said, as the beam sucked Yachi and Hinata in. As soon as he was close enough to the floor, three of the people in lab coats grabbed him tightly. Instinct made him struggle, but there was no overcoming the guards, who seemed to all be gifted with supernatural strength.

 _What I wouldn’t give for super-strength right now,_ he thought, thinking about what Daichi’s powerful muscles could have done to these guards.

Checking his shoulder to see if Yachi was okay, Hinata realized that she was no longer there. He guessed she must have made a break for it before the guards had even seen her.

Hinata’s hands were pinned to his back, and thick, bulky shackles were placed around his wrists. Immediately, he felt drained, his body wilting forward in a tired slump. He knew in his bones that his powers had been taken from him. How could that be possible?

The guards dragged him through narrow metal corridors until they reached a door. One of them put a hand onto a pad next to it, and the door swished open.

Hinata’s mouth went dry at the sight in front of him. Prison cells lined every inch of the walls of the enormous chamber. They all glowed with a faint light, filling the room with a soft electric hum.

“What…what are you planning?” Hinata stammered at the guards. The one holding onto his right arm tightened his grip.

“Be quiet,” he snapped at Hinata. They took him through the cells until they came to the only one that was occupied.

“Kageyama!” Hinata yelled. His partner looked up at him from the floor of his cell, a horrified expression crossing his face.

“Hinata?”

Unaffected by their interaction, the guards slid a cell open, and tossed Hinata inside. They didn’t say a single word to either of them before leaving.

“Kageyama,” Hinata said again, sliding awkwardly over to the bars to his side to get closer to his partner. He was still sitting in the corner farthest from Hinata, his eyes wide with fear at the sight of him. He didn’t look badly injured, but his left wrist looked purple and swollen. “Are you okay?”

Kageyama just continued to stare at him. “Why did you come here?” he finally growled.

“I….” Hinata was temporarily stunned by Kageyama’s anger, “I came here to rescue you! You could be a little more grateful.”

Kageyama looked like he was trying really hard not to explode into a thousand furious pieces. His face was red, and it took him a while to pull himself together enough to speak again.

“What- what the hell were you thinking? There’s no way you can go up against them! What did you think you were going to do, fly in here and beat everyone up? Carry me away in your arms?”

There it was again: everyone telling Hinata that he was being stupid and reckless. His temper flaring, he shoved himself closer to the bars of Kageyama’s cell.

“You’re one to talk!” he snapped, “You’re the one who went here in the first place! And with Oikawa…I mean, what the hell were _you_ thinking? That you would just break in and take everyone out and save the day? God, you’re so arrogant.”

Hinata felt the urge to cross his arms and pout, but the handcuffs restricted him. He settled for leaning his head back against the wall with a dramatic huff.

When Kageyama didn’t retaliate as he’d expected, he turned his head slightly, not wanting his partner to notice him looking if they were having some kind of ignoring contest. But it was clear that Kageyama wasn’t ignoring him; he was looking down into his lap, noticeably miserable. Hinata was about to say he hadn’t meant it, but he bit his lip to stop the words. Kageyama had been arrogant to come here.

Hinata might not have minded so much if he hadn’t done it without even telling him.

“Why didn’t you take me too?” Hinata said softly, opening what he hadn’t realized was a deep wound until now, “You know I wouldn’t have told on you. I would’ve come, because I’m just as reckless as you are. I thought…I just thought we were partners, you know?” he swallowed, “I don’t really care about anything else. I mean, I do, but. I can let it go if we can just go back to working together again. I don’t want to lose that.”

Hinata wished he could wipe his eyes; they were starting to sting. He wondered how everything had gotten so messed up so quickly. He chalked it up to parties and mind-readers, to maybe-kisses and manipulative supervillains. It seemed like nothing could ever just be simple.

“I’m sorry,” Kageyama croaked, finally turning to look at him, “I don’t know why I…I just don’t know. I’m really sorry.”

There was a strange, gasping sound from Kageyama’s mouth, and Hinata realized with a shock that he was crying. An instant pang in Hinata’s chest reminded him of a connection that felt huge and strong and permanent, now. _In too deep_ , his mother would call it. Sitting in a cell he’d been thrown into because he couldn't bear the thought of losing person in the one next to him, it certainly felt like he was in about as deep as he could get.

“I don’t want to, um. I don’t want to lose that either,” Kageyama managed, and Hinata breathed, trying not to think about the other things Hinata had hinted at that were going ignored. As long as they were both safe and together, he could get passed not getting any more kisses. Probably.

“Okay,” Hinata said, trying to smile at Kageyama. He looked around the endless prison, “We just have to get out of here, somehow.”

“It won’t be easy. All of her equipment is designed to stop us from using our powers.”

Hinata watched him thoughtfully, “Do you know what- what this person is planning? Why does she have so many cells?”

Kageyama didn’t look at him. “Her name is Kada. Or at least, that’s what she went by before....she's the one who took us five years ago."

Hinata bit his lip. He was hurting for Kageyama that he had to face this again, terrified to meet the person who'd had at least a hand in killing his dad, but somehow not surprised at the answer. Kageyama went on, "Oikawa said that I was here as ‘bait’. I think she probably wants to bring as many people with powers here as she can- maybe she’s hoping to get enough of the staff out looking for us that she can take the school. Or…”

“Or what?” Hinata was riveted by this information, clinging to Kageyama’s every word.

“Or maybe she wanted to get you here.”

Hinata gaped, “Me?”

“You’re the powerful son of two famous heroes,” he went on, like it was obvious, “And your dad helped take her down the first time.” He hung his head, “I can’t believe I led you here. I would make a terrible hero.”

“It was my decision to come,” Hinata protested, but Kageyama still looked deep into his sulk. “Come on, Kageyama. You’re going to be an awesome hero! We’re both just…still learning.” He fought the urge to cringe at how like Takeda-sensei he sounded.

Kageyama looked a little less depressed, but he still scowled pensively. He looked around the room, “If we could figure out how to get these handcuffs off, I could get us out of here.”

“Maybe Yachi will think of something,” Hinata said with a yawn. Kageyama’s eyes widened.

“Yachi? But she isn’t here.”

“Yeah she is. She came with me, but she’s still probably a mouse somewhere. I bet she’ll get us out of here.”

Kageyama groaned, and Hinata sniggered. “Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are down below, waiting to see if I come out. Well, maybe. Tsukki might have decided to abandon us here.” 

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Kageyama said, but Hinata was already drifting off to sleep, “Are you joking? Hinata?”

“Mmm,” Hinata leaned his head against the bars of Kageyama’s cell.

After a while, Kageyama stopped trying to keep him awake. Hinata felt him lean his head against the bars, so that their heads were almost against each other’s, and fell asleep.

______

“Hinata.”

“Mmm? No, go away,” Hinata tried to go back to sleep, weariness still deep in his bones and heavy on his eyelids. But he was in an uncomfortable position, his neck and shoulders aching. Trying to stretch, he discovered that his hands were bound together, and his eyes shot open in panic.

“What’s happening?” he asked, dazed and struggling against the handcuffs.

Kageyama was wide awake, staring towards the prison’s entrance with anxious focus. “Someone’s coming. I don’t know what-”

He was cut off by the sound of clomping footsteps on the metallic floor. Three guards came into view, stopping outside of Hinata’s cell.

“What do you want?” Kageyama hissed at them. His tone was vicious, but Hinata could tell how afraid he was.

The guards ignored him completely. Now that Hinata was less swept up by adrenaline, he noticed that they all had a glazed, glassy look in their eyes. One of them took a card out of his pocket and slid it into a slot. Hinata’s cell swung open.

Two of the guards stepped in. Hinata shoved himself backwards as much as he could, but there was nowhere to go, and he soon had a guard gripping each of his arms.

He could hear Kageyama yelling at them, but all he could focus on was trying to struggle out of the guards’ grip. He had no idea what they intended to do with him; this might be his only opportunity to escape.

Using the only body parts he could still move, Hinata swung at them with his legs, and tried to crack his head against theirs. He fought hard enough that one of the guards’ grip slipped free. He was about to drop his weight to the floor and try to make a break for it when one of them spoke.

“Enough,” he said, voice deep and intimidating but lifeless, devoid of any human depth. Hinata looked over to see that his arm was outstretched, and he was pointing his gun straight through the bars of Kageyama’s cell.

“Hinata,” Kageyama said, the sweat on his forehead shining under fluorescent lights. He seemed to be trying to tell Hinata something- not to go with them, probably. But Hinata wasn’t about to watch Kageyama get shot if there was something he could do about it.

He let his body relax in the guards’ grip, making it clear that he was done resisting. He would find another way out of this. He didn’t know what would happen otherwise.

They dragged him away, and Hinata tried to ignore the shouts of his name coming from Kageyama’s cell.

______

Sugawara ran out into the cool, dewy morning, unable to tell what was moisture from the atmosphere, and what was cold sweat on his forehead. He tried to calm himself, but couldn’t slow the rapid beating of his heart. Ironic, that he couldn’t do for himself what he did for other people.

He met Daichi in the park, the lights turned off for the day. His hero was still in his sleeping clothes, hair mussed. Despite everything, Suga still had it in him to feel grateful for how quickly Daichi had come to meet him.

“Suga. What’s going on?” he said, running up to put his hands on Suga’s shoulders. He felt guilt sink in his stomach at how worried Daichi felt, knowing that how frantic and cryptic his texts must have sounded.

“It’s the first years,” he tried to keep his answer calm, but could feel tears threatening to fall, “I went to check in this morning, you know, with everything happening, but they weren’t there. Any of them. So I went and looked around but they’re just _gone_ , Daichi.”

His voice broke, and Daichi pulled him into a hug. “How could I let this happen?” he said into Daichi’s shoulder.

“It isn’t your job to watch them all the time. They’re adults.” He pulled away, looking worriedly towards his own building, “We’ll go check on everyone in the Hero dorm. Then we’ll go right to the dean’s office.”

Tsukishima was missing from his dorm room. That meant that all of their first years were missing.

“I can’t imagine that he’d get dragged into some rescue attempt,” Suga fretted in the lounge.

“Me either,” Daichi agreed, “But the first thing we need to do is go to the dean.”

But the dean was nowhere to be found. They knocked on his office door, on the administrative top floors of the main building, but there was no response.

“Maybe he’s out doing something about Oikawa and Kageyama?” Daichi suggested. Suga made a sound of frustration.

“If something’s going on, then he should be here. Administrating. Where we can find him.”

A voice in the hallway behind them made them both jump. “Are you looking for the dean?”

Suga spun around. “Kozume Kenma?” he said, staring at the boy who had just materialized in the hallway outside of the dean’s office.

“Sorry,” he said about startling them, but not sounding particularly sorry, “Are you trying to find the dean?”

“Yeah,” Daichi said, “Do you know where he is?”

Kenma shook his head. He looked like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. And felt like one, too. Suga frowned, suspicious.

“Kozume-san, were you…spying on the dean?”

Kenma showed almost no reaction, “Why are you looking for him?”

They shared a look, unsure if they should tell him why they were really there. Sugawara decided that he would probably find out soon enough anyway, so he said, “Our first years have gone missing.”

“You mean…you mean Shouyou is gone?”

Suga nodded.

Kenma sighed, “You’d better, um, come with me.”

_________

“What’s this about?” Daichi asked as Kenma led them to a secluded spot under a tree near the main platform.

“You can’t tell the dean about Shouyou,” he said flatly.

Suga stared at him. “What? What else could we do about it?”

Kenma fiddled with the sleeves of his hoodie. “Listen,” he said, “If you tell the dean, he isn’t going to help.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I thought he’s been acting suspicious, so I snuck into his office. I heard him talking to someone- I couldn’t see them, I don’t know how he was communicating with them. But I know that, whoever has Shouyou and everyone else, the dean is helping them. I think he’s sending the staff in all the wrong directions.”

Suga and Daichi shared a skeptical look. “The dean is one of our oldest and most respected staff members,” Daichi said, “He was in hero work for a long time before he came here.”

Suga nodded. “Do you really think he would work with a supervillain?”

“It’s the only explanation,” Kenma said, impatient, “In his office, he was talking about how Shouyou and Kageyama were important to what they were planning. He also said something about a secret base in the sky.”

"Wait! I did find something in Yachi-san’s room,” Sugawara said, producing the piece of paper he’d nabbed for the first time. Suga had forgotten it in his rush to try and find them on campus.

Kenma took the paper. “Coordinates,” he said, “She must have left them behind in case they didn’t come back.”

“And if she didn’t go to the staff about this…then maybe she suspected the same thing as Kenma,” Suga added, flinching at Daichi’s feeling of shock at his words. “Listen,” he added to his partner, desperate, “I think Kenma might be right. Remember the Save the Citizen? And he heard it with his own ears. If no one is really looking for them….”

“Then we have to do something ourselves,” Daichi finished for him, face having hardened into determined stone. Suga sighed in relief. He had a hunch about all of this, a feeling that had been brewing in his gut ever since Oikawa and Kageyama were reported missing, and being an empath meant that his hunches were usually more than just that. He knew that Daichi understood that part of him well.

“But how to we get there?” Daichi asked, referring to the coordinates still clutched in Kenma’s hand, “Unless any of you know how to rig up an escape pod like Oikawa.”

They both shook their heads. Then they were distracted by the sound of voices coming from around the corner.

“Daichi-san! Suga-san!” Soon Tanaka and Nishinoya were running from behind the school building, relief clear on their faces. Asahi, Michimiya, Ennoshita, and Kiyoko weren’t far behind.

“We were looking everywhere for you guys,” Nishinoya panted, unusually serious.

“Yeah,” Tanaka said, “Don’t go sneaking off like that when people are just disappearing and shit.”

Kiyoko looked around nervously. “We still can’t find Yachi. Or any of the other first years.” She finally noticed their expressions, and her face fell. “What’s going on?”

“We couldn’t find them either,” Suga explained, “Not anywhere. So we went to the dean, but…” he looked to Kenma for help.

“I think he’s involved with them disappearing,” Kenma said, and Suga could feel how nervous he was about the attention, “I was listening in on him in his office.”

Daichi nodded. “Suga found coordinates in Yachi’s room, and Kenma heard something about a base in the sky. If we can find a way to get there, then we can go after them.”

Asahi and Michimiya stared at them like they’d just proposed they try to build a rocket and launch themselves to Jupiter. Kiyoko’s face was level and determined.

Tanaka and Nishinoya, however, started screaming. It took Suga a moment to realize that they weren’t shrieking in terror, but cheering like they’d just won Olympic gold medals, excitement radiating from them.

“ _What_ are you doing?” Daichi asked, hand on his forehead.

Nishinoya struggled to speak through his excitement, “Oh, man. Are you in for a surprise! Come with us.”

They followed Tanaka and Nishinoya out of the main platform and across the bridge that led to the village. Despite many pleas to explain what was going on, neither of them would reveal anything, insisting that it would ‘be better as a surprise’. So they all walked in horrible curiosity until the two of them came to a halt, right outside of Ukai Senior’s garage. Most of the residential street appeared deserted; Suga wondered if everyone was out dealing with the recent events.

“Are you ready for this?” Tanaka asked, in a tone that made Suga very certain that he wasn’t. But Tanaka asked Nishinoya to do the honors anyway, and he bent down to pull up the garage door with enthusiastic flare.

“Ta-daa!”

Sitting there in the garage was…something. It wasn’t like Suga expected there to be a car on a floating village in the sky, but some of the older retired staff members kept golf carts for getting around the school.

What he was staring at definitely wasn’t a golf cart.

“Um…what am I looking at, here?” Ennoshita said, arms crossed.

“Our invention!” Tanaka said, eyes shimmering. Feeling the pride coming from his friend, Suga couldn’t help a bemused smile.

Nishinoya stepped into the garage, running his hands reverently over their ‘invention’. It looked like some kind of vehicle- it was flat and circular, like a pancake with seats and headlights. It all looked like it was made out of old scrap metal, everything dented and rusting despite what looked like careful polishing.

“It’s a hover car,” Nishinoya explained, chest puffed out, “We made it out of pieces from the hideout. It works with our powers- the first ever vehicle powered by lighting and explosions.”

Michimiya was pale, “But it isn’t meant to be actually flown, right?”

Tanaka stared at her, confused. “What else would we do with it?”

“We can use it to rescue the first years!” Nishinoya said. There was a familiar fire in his eyes that made Suga swallow a lump in his throat.

“I’m…not getting in that.” Daichi said decisively, and Asahi nodded in furious agreement.

“Neither am I!”

Nishinoya put his hands on his hips, glaring at Asahi, “Traitor! You said you thought it was a cool idea.”

“Well I didn’t think I would ever actually ride in it!”

“I told you I would take you for a romantic ride, and you agreed! Were you _lying_ to me?”

This sparked a whole mess of noisy debate that had Suga scrambling to tamper down the mix of fear, frustration, and anger that was clouding around them. Since he was feeling some of those things pretty strongly himself, his powers didn’t have much effect. They really only worked to project some of his own emotions onto the people around him, like a tunnel that went both ways. _Shit_ , he thought, _I might actually be making things worse._

“Come one, guys….” He tried, but it made no difference. But then a clear voice cut through the din.

“Stop it,” It was Kiyoko. She wasn’t yelling (if she had yelled, Suga probably would have passed out on the spot from shock) but her steady, commanding tone made everyone fall silent.

“If Kozume-san is right,” she said, “Then no one is coming to help our friends. If this is the only way we can get to them, then I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

Tanaka wiped a tear from his eye, “Thank you, Kiyoko-san!”

“I guess she’s right,” Daichi said, looking like he’d just dug the last shovelful out of his grave, “This is going to be dangerous no matter how we get there. If anyone want to stay here, then no one will blame you.”

There was silence from the group. Nishinoya walked up to Asahi, putting a hand on his arm.

“You really don’t have to,” he said. But Asahi shook his head.

“No, he’s right. We have to save our friends.”

Nishinoya swallowed hard, “Man, when did you get so brave and stuff?”

“I think…probably since I met you,” Asahi said, blushing and rubbing the back of his neck.

Suga groaned, but he couldn’t fight the smile on his face, “Let’s just go! Before I barf.”

Feeling a particular spike of anxiety, Suga turned to see Kenma looking down at his hands.

“Kozume-san,” Suga said gently, “You don’t have to come with us. You’ve already done so much to help.”

“No, it’s fine. I want to get Shouyou back.” 

Sugawara thought a moment. “Well, we could probably use you more here. You can try to keep tabs on the staff, and the dean if he comes back. Here, I’ll give you my cell phone number.”

Kenma accepted, and Suga felt the wave of his relief sooth him.

“Okay, losers,” Tanaka said, “Let’s get his show on the road!”

______

Kageyama sat in his cell, trying not to let misery overtake him. It wasn’t in him to forgive himself for being the reason that Hinata was here, for not being able to protect him when it mattered the most. He couldn’t stand to think of what might be happening to the person he’d come to care about it ways that were still strange and foreign to him. He couldn’t bear the thought of Hinata Shouyou in pain.

His arms and shoulders ached from struggling against the cuffs. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they were the only things stopping him from breaking out of the cell and destroying this base and everyone in it. Being cut off from his power made him feel more helpless and small than the last time he’d been in a cell like this.

He was just beginning to feel the world close in on him again when he was shaken out of his thoughts by a loud noise from down the hall. There was a clanking sound, and then a voice, presumably one of the guards.

“Hey, what- agh!” Another metallic clank.

Kageyama shifted himself carefully to the bars of his cell, trying to get a look at what was happening. The prison was silent for a long moment, before a small movement on the floor drew Kageyama’s eye.

It was…a mouse.

“Huh?” Kageyama couldn’t help but express his confusion. Then the mouse began to glow, it’s form turning molten and growing to the size of a person.

“Yachi-san?” Kageyama whispered at the girl who was now in front of his cell, holding a little green card in her had.

“Kageyama-kun,” she breathed, sounding relieved. “Sorry I took so long! Until now they had five guards on you! I knew I couldn’t take that many.”

Kageyama’s stared at her. “You- you took them down?”

Yachi blushed, “I used the technique from class! Also, these guys seem a little weird. Like they’re hypnotized or something? Anyway, where’s Hinata?”

Breath caught in Kageyama’s throat at Hinata’s name. The look on his face must have said a lot, because Yachi’s eyes widened in fear.

“They took him away,” he said, “I don’t know where, but I think we need to hurry.”

“Right,” Yachi stuck the keycard into the slot, and the cell door opened, “Are you okay? Can you walk?”

“I’m fine,” he said, “You didn’t happen to find a handcuff key on them, did you?”

“No, sorry.”

Kageyama shook his head to let her know it was okay. He was just going to have to figure this out without his powers.

They ran out of the prison, passing two conscious but very bound-and-gagged-with-their-own-clothing guards on the way out.

“Nice one,” Kageyama said, impressed.

“Oh! Uh, it was nothing.”

They stepped out into a deserted hallway. They seemed to be doing pretty well, but Kageyama’s skin prickled. It didn’t seem right that no one had come to stop them.

The corridor led out into the room into which he and Oikawa had flown two nights before. Again, the space was deserted.

Expect for the last person that Kageyama wanted to see right now. Well, maybe the second to last person.

“Hello, Tobio-chan!” Oikawa spoke cheerily, but he looked like he’d been to hell and back since Kageyama had last seen him. There were dark bags under his eyes, and they had the glint of someone who’d been struggling so hard for so long that he was ready to just let loose on anyone who crossed his path.

“What do you want, Oikawa?” Kegeyama spat.

Oikawa shrugged, “Oh you know. Someone has to keep you occupied while Shrimpy’s getting some upgrades. Guess that person is me.”

 _Upgrades._ Bile rose in Kageyama’s throat.

“Where is he?” he growled. For a moment, Oikawa looked sympathetic.

Then the emotion vanished, and he called out for the guards.

________________

Hinata fought the entire way down the gray hallways, kicking and thrashing and biting out insults to the guards. He knew that he probably wasn’t going to be able to break their hold on him, but he was a naturally optimistic person. As long as there was a chance, he would struggle as hard as he could.

Besides, he had a hunch that, wherever they were taking him, the guards had been instructed to bring him there unharmed. Why else would they have threatened Kageyama’s life to get him out of his cell? So he had nothing to lose by trying to get a few kicks in.

They dragged him into an industrial-looking elevator, nothing like the sleek glass ones that took students in and out of Sora. Whoever had built this place didn’t care about flare, only staunch practicality.

Shaking and rumbling, the elevator went up what felt like two or three stories, at least. It slid open, revealing another gray hallway. But this one was shorter than the others, with a few doors on the sides leading to a larger one on the end. There were no openings to other hallways that Hinata could see, and claustrophobia clenched down on his chest. Something about this corridor made the first stirrings of genuine terror hit him like a bought of stomach flu.

He was alone up here. And it didn’t feel like anyone could possibly be coming to rescue him.

“Let me go!” he shouted, kicking and thrashing as they brought him to the door at the end of the hallway.

The door slid open, the guards pulling him inside with cold, machine-like authority despite his protesting. Hinata could barely take in his new surroundings for his panic. The world had narrowed to a basic instinct for survival.

He was thrown onto a hard surface- a chair. He lashed out to kick one of the guards in the face, but they simply left him, with only his hands still bound behind his back.

There was a series of clanking sounds from somewhere Hinata couldn’t see. Realizing that nothing was stopping him, he jumped up out of the chair, running towards the door.

A force like nothing he had ever felt slammed into his chest, and he was flung backwards into the chair. Struggling, Hinata realized that he could no longer move from where he was pinned down.

Finally looking around the room, he saw that it was cluttered full with machinery. Large, bulky contraptions surrounded him.

The sound of footsteps drew his attention, and he saw a woman step out into the room form being a piece of machinery. She drew closer to Hinata, and he saw that she was short, like him, with long, graying hair and wide blue eyes. She watched him like he was an oddly behaving science experiment. Hinata felt frozen beneath her gaze.

“Interesting,” she said, clearly more to herself than to Hinata, “I wonder what we should do with this one?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this fic has brought out the corny cliffhangers in me...I can't stop now.
> 
> Thank you so much to anyone who leaves comments and kudos! It means so much to me <3


	8. A Two-Way Street

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god here it is!!! It's the last chapter!!!! Ahh!!!
> 
> I really hope this has been a fun read for you. It was definitely fun for me to right! As always thank you to who has left comments and kudos or supported the story in any way. It means more to me than I can say! (Also I just want to say that some characters I put in the tags didn't end up happening so I'm gonna fix that).
> 
> Now I hope you enjoy the last chapter :')

“Guards!” Oikawa called, and Kageyama couldn’t help but notice the dead, empty tone of his voice, equal to those of Kada’s servants. It rang harsh and true against the metal walls, but no one came to answer it.

“Uh. Hello?” Oikawa said, raising one eyebrow at the silence around him, but not seeming particularly concerned about the lack of response. Still, Kageyama didn’t waste a moment of his confusion.

“Yachi,” he whispered, “Transform! Then you can-”

“I don’t think so,” Oikawa sighed, turning a tired look towards Yachi, who’d breath caught suddenly. Kageyama assumed that she’d been stripped of her powers. “I can’t hold both of you at once by myself,” Oikawa muttered, “But luckily, Tobio-chan can’t do anything while he’s in those nifty handcuffs.”

The hell I can’t, Kageyama thought, before throwing himself in Oikawa’s direction with a shout. Oikwa’s eyes went wide with rare surprise- he had likely been using all of his focus to keep Yachi from taking another form. Once he realized what was happening, he sidestepped Kageyama’s attack easily, but the break in his concentration was enough to let Yachi shrink down into her mouse form. She scurried away, Kageyama hoped, to somewhere she would be safe until he found a way to get them out of there. _All_ of them.

Oikawa’s quick eyes landed on the tawny mouse. Before he could act, Kageyama launched another assault, this time ramming his head directly into Oikawa’s chest, hard enough to send him stumbling backwards.

“Only you would attack someone with your head while your hands are behind your back,” Oikawa taunted. He swung out his legs with a grace that Kageyama hadn’t known he possessed, swiftly knocking him to the ground. Kageyama attempted to mimic the move, trying to take Oikawa down with him, but it was too predictable. Oikawa easily avoided him. He placed a foot on Kageyama’s side, holding him fast to the floor.

Kageyama struggled, but could see that there was no purpose to it. With his hands behind his back, and his powers restrained, there was no way he could win against Oikawa.

He thought about Hinata, and where he could be right now. What he might be going through. Then he tried to banish those thoughts, and every other thing in his mind. He focused everything he had on the bulky pieces of machinery around his wrists.

It shouldn’t work. How many times had he tried to force himself out of these handcuffs with his powers? On top of that, Oikawa could clearly see what he was attempting, and was using his own powers to stop him.

Nonetheless, the cuffs began to quiver.

“What the hell?” Oikawa said, looking more curious than upset about Kageyama’s progress, “How are you doing that? Those cuffs are-”

Kageyama stared into Oikawa’s eyes, both a treat, and an attempt to snap him out of whatever was taking control of him. Then, something broke- it rippled through them both, a combination of power so strong that they both flew in opposing directions. Kageyama slid across the floor.

When he came to a stop, he lifted his hands to his face.

The handcuffs had disintegrated.

________

Hinata couldn’t get control of his breathing. This experience- of being held down, being stared at, waiting for what was to come- was more terrifying than anything he could have imagined. His chest rose and fell like a cornered rabbit, and he couldn’t stop his struggling, even though he knew it would do him no good.

Kada wasn’t paying any attention to him now- she puttered around the room, muttering to herself as she shifted through boxes of parts and connected wires. Her apparent total disregard of Hinata as anything more than an interesting specimen made cold sweat form on his skin. Like this, he could see how easy it would be to forget himself. Is this what Kageyama went through?

“There we go,” Kada finally said, relish in her voice as she looked at her accomplishment. She brought over a complicated mess of wires, all with little paper disks at the end.

“Now,” she muttered to herself, “Let’s see what we have here.”

Hinata struggled further as she approached him, but was faced with the same resistance as before- resistance that he now realized felt similar to being held by Kageyama’s telekinetic gaze. Had this woman really done to herself the things that she’d tortured others with?

Either way, there was nothing that Hinata could do as he was attached to the wires- some on his head, others on his wrists, his chest, his ankles. Kada’s eyes were cold steel as she went over to a monitor, like an old computer, and began punching in instructions. She was precise and industrious, and Hinata knew that she would do anything to get what she wanted.

Which, at that moment, was apparently related to him.

Something popped up on the monitor, but Hinata was too far away to see what it was. He could hear her reaction, though- a pleased and curious hum, like a CEO being brought some surprisingly positive figures.

She turned to Hinata with a vicious smile, eyes sharp and calculating. Addressing him directly for the first time, she said, “Well. Looks like you’re exactly what I was looking for.”

“Let me go!” Hinata screamed, still gasping for breath and sweating cold.

“Shh,” she waved a hand over Hinata’s mouth, and his lips stuck together. The action felt more like sorcery than superpowers.

After that, she returned to behaving like Hinata didn’t exist. She moved over to one of her, machines, and started it up. It made a pervasive humming noise that made Hinata think of radioactivity.

Then, before he had time to even think, she ripped the wires from the computer and stuck it into the machine.

It took a moment for anything to happen. Then, pain like nothing Hinata had ever known rippled through him. He felt it in every one of his cells, like they were all combusting at once- torture on a molecular level. Everything narrowed down to the level of his pain. He couldn’t think, couldn’t grasp a hold of who he was anymore.

Hinata screamed.

His screams still rang in his ears as the pain came to a sudden stop. It was hard to know how long he’d been suffering- it didn’t feel like long, but everything was hazy and timeless in the face of torture. Nearby, Kada scowled, her hand on the same lever that had started the machine.

She sighed, put-upon. “Must I do everything myself?” she wondered. Then she made sure that Hinata was securely fastened into the chair, and vanished.

Actually vanished. Out of thin air. Hinata assumed that she’d given herself the power to teleport. Addled by what he’d just experienced, and sickened by the sight of the wires connecting him to the machine, Hinata still knew one thing.

He had to get out of there.

________

Surprise had given Kageyama the upper hand. He could keep Oikawa at bay with the force of his powers, but just barely- the strength of Oikawa’s bizarre power-blocking ability was quickly creeping up on him. Still, he struggled, aware that at any moment Hinata’s life could be in danger. He felt even the potential for his friend’s suffering deep in the pit of his stomach.

“How the hell did you do that, you brat?” Oikawa said through gritted teeth. They were locked by both of their hands, both trying to push the other over. But this contact was only the tip of the ice burg of their fight- the real struggle was between minds.

Kageyama tried to remain focused. “I’ve always been stronger than you,” he gasped. A surge of Oikawa’s influence hit him, heightened by rage. Kageyama wondered when he would learn to keep his mouth shut in these types of situations.

His focus wavered as he saw the air shimmer behind Oikawa, and felt the back of his neck raise with goosebumps. It was a sight he easily recognized- the sight of a person teleporting in.

Within seconds, Kada was standing before them. She was a bit older than Kageyama remembered her, but she wore the age surprisingly well; she was still sharp-eyed, industrious, and sturdy-looking. An unfortunate reminder that she’d been treated favorably in custody, while the government allowed her to continue her research. There was a time when Kageyama had thought he’d understood her, felt that the need for heroes could justify what she was doing. But that was before he had witnessed children suffer and die beneath her hand. Before he had seen the looks in the eyes of their families.

Nothing could be worth that.

Taking in the scene in front of her, Kada quickly went over and grabbed Oikawa by the arm. When Kageyama attempted to stand, she stuck her other hand out, freezing him in place.

“Useless,” she said, with no fire in her voice. Only cold disapproval. “What is the point of the mental link if, even when I’m controlling you, you can’t do what I require?”

Oikawa’s eyes flashed, “I almost had a hold of him. If you just-”

“Enough,” she snapped, dropping Oikawa to the ground in a heap, “You didn’t want to _hurt_ him. I can see that much. But what about the greater objective, Tooru? This is why you will always be a sidekick.”

“But you,” she pulled Kageyama up with a movement of her hand, and he became vertical, his toes just brushing the ground in a mock standing position. He felt as if she were gripping him by the neck. She looked into his eyes. “I think that you could understand my purpose, Kageyama Tobio. I see a vicious desire for victory in you- victory over the evil in this world.”

“You’re the evil in this world,” Kageyama hissed.

She released him, and he fell to his knees on the floor.

“I made you too strong,” she muttered, “I see that now. Even others with gifts can sense that you are unnatural. They fear you.”

_They feel the same about Oikawa,_ Kageyama thought, _He’s strong. But you can only see him as a lackey._

“I will have to start over,” Kada continued, “Find someone to give your gifts who will not be so resistant to control. Maybe the one I have upstairs- the son of The Raven.”

_Good luck with that,_ Kageyama thought. _You’re the reason his dad is dead. So much for caring about the number of superheroes in the world._

“I will have to get rid of you,” she said to herself. Before Kageyama could fully comprehend what she meant, her hand shot out again. Pain- scorching, twisting pain- tangled and contracted deep inside of Kageyama’s stomach. This wasn’t the torture of a person gifted to cause pain and pain alone; this was more than just an illusion of chemicals and synapses. She was destroying him from the inside out.

Doubled over, Kageyama tried to send some of his own influence her way, in the hope of stopping her attack for even a moment. But she was too strong. The power she had given herself was far beyond anything that she had given him.

He gasped, and the ragged attempt at breath sent blood pooling into his mouth. He choked on it, and it splattered onto the ground.

“Stop it!” Kageyama could just barely recognize Oikawa’s desperate voice through the haze of pain, “Please, you don’t have to do this! You can still use him!”

“Be quiet!” Kada snapped, her eyes not leaving Kageyama for an instant, “If we were not so linked that I couldn’t end you without harming myself, you would be next. I’ll create a hero with five times his power, who will obey me better than you ever did. The two of you will never save us- you were merely prototypes.”

Kageyama heard this as if through a cloth sheet wrapped around his head. His vision was fading, and hot liquid continued to spill from his mouth. He tried to draw in a breath, but his lungs were collapsing in on themselves.

And then, just as pinpricks of black were threatening to take over everything, it stopped. Kageyama could still feel the brokenness of his insides, still tasted the blood on his tongue, but Kada’s influence had retreated. With effort, he looked up to see her staring, in confusion and horror, at Oikawa.

He had stood, and was watching her with concentration and hatred. Sweat glistened on his forehead, which was taught with visible veins.

Kageyama thought he must have been imagining this. There was no way that Oikawa could be holding her back.

But he was.

If we weren’t so linked that I couldn’t end you without harming myself…and Kada thought that _Kageyama_ would be her downfall if she allowed him to live. She had given Oikawa all he needed to take her down; she’d just assumed that he wouldn’t have the willpower to use it. But if there was anything that Oikawa Tooru had, it was willpower.

“Go!” Oikawa gasped, bulging eyes flickering to where Kageyama still laid broken and bleeding on the metal floor, “I can’t hold her much longer….”

But Kageyama couldn’t get his limbs to move. Whenever he shifted, he felt all that was wrong inside of him shift as well. As Oikawa fought off an indignant Kada, Kageyama was fighting the urge to be sick.

He knew that as soon as Oikawa’s hold slipped, they would both be done for. But then a sudden movement from off to the side of them whipped through the air. There was a cry, and the next thing Kageyama saw was an arrow lodged right in Kada’s neck.

With a scream of pain, she flickered, and vanished.

Oikawa collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He crawled over to Kageyama.

“Shit,” he half-sobbed, “Shit, Kageyama, are you okay? Tobio-chan? Please say something, oh god…I’m so sorry….”

He broke down into tears, and Kageyama tried to convey something comforting- whether gratitude, forgiveness, or just understanding, he wasn’t sure- but he couldn’t make any words come out of his mouth. The torture was over, but it had left his body in ruins. Despite his silence, however, Oikawa nodded his head in understanding, and Kageyama felt grateful for Oikawa’s gift for the first time.

“I’m not leaving you, you idiot,” Oikawa said with a shaky smile at Kageyama’s next thought, “No, not even to save your boyfriend. We’re all getting out of here, alright? We just have to-”

Oikawa’s body became tense at the sound of footsteps down a corridor. But the voice that Kageyama heard wasn’t one of the guards.

“Oh no,” it said, “Is he okay?”

Painfully, Kageyama managed to turn his head to the side, and saw Yamaguchi Tadashi rushing up to them. He had his bow in one hand, and his quiver slung over his shoulder. _Nice shot, Yamaguchi,_ Kageyama thought. He wished Yamaguchi could also read his mind. _Now go get Hinata. There isn’t anything you can do for me._

Coming up a little behind Yamaguchi was, of course, Tsukishima. His face was contorted with effort, and with another crane of his neck, Kageyama could see why. Nearby, the entire regiment of guards was trapped, contained in the biggest force field he’d ever seen Tsukki produce. So that’s where all the guards have been.

“He isn’t,” Oikawa said in response to Yamaguchi’s question; he never was one to beat around the bush. “We need to get him out of here.”

“What about Hinata?” Tsukishima asked, “Where is he?”

Kageyama was about to speak up. But then the wall exploded.

Luckily, the chamber was large enough that only some pieces of debris fell onto the floor. Oikawa shouted as one grazed his cheek.

Some energy returning to him from the shock, Kageyama attempted to sit up a little. The entire left side of the entrance chamber was now covered in dust and rubble, like it had been hit with a 1000-foot-tall wrecking ball.

“What the hell?” Tsukishima cried as sunlight poured into the chamber.

“Did somebody order some rescuin’?” a voice said from the other side of the hole. Looking up, Kageyama could see Tanaka hop onto the floor. In the blue sky behind him were several other of his friends, all riding…something.

The next to touch down was Kiyoko, who had evidently flown her way there.

“Kiyoko-san? Tanaka-san?” Yamaguchi said in wonder.

“We’ll explain later,” Kiyoko said efficiently, “Is everyone okay? Where’s Yachi?”

There was more talking after that, as well as more people dismounting onto the metal floor of the entrance chamber. But Kageyama found that it was getting more difficult to follow the events; they passed in a muted, jumbled blur, featuring lapses of consciousness that took hold before he could see them coming.

After one of these small blackouts, Kageyama’s eyes opened to find Sugawara Koushi staring down at him with poorly-disguised worry. He felt gentle fingers stroking his forehead, relaxing him, though there was no supernatural element to the calm they provided- Sugawara was too upset to be providing anyone comfort.

“It’s really risky to try and heal internal injuries,” a voice, Asahi, said above him, “But I think I have to try. Otherwise he- he won’t make it.”

“You can do it, big guy,” someone else said. After a moment, Kageyama felt warm hands on his abdomen. Something spread through him, something that might have registered as pain had he not been in so much already, and probably in shock besides. But after a moment, some of the pain had faded. Kageyama breathed in deep, and found that his lungs were no longer constricted as if on the verge of collapsing.

“How do you feel?” Asahi asked when Kageyama pushed himself up onto his elbows.

Kageyama tried to ignore the taste of blood on his tongue. “Better,” he said. He was far from healed, but he should be patched up enough to get Hinata and get out of here. “A lot better. Thank you. Asahi-san.”

Asahi watched him with knowing eyes. “You’re still hurt. You need to take it easy.”

Just then, the air was split by a terrible scream. Kageyama’s gut clenched, and not because he was still wounded.

“Hinata!” Kageyama tried to get up, but was forced back to the ground by multiple hands.

“You need to stay here and rest,” Daichi looked down at Kageyama with a stare that reminded him that he was the reason any of them were there in the first place. Kageyama couldn’t meet his eyes for very long.

The uncomfortable silence was broken by a shout from Kiyoko, “Yachi!”

Sure enough, Yachi had just materialized in the entrance hall. Her face was grim and unafraid in a way that Kageyama had never seen before.

She looked down at him when she spoke, “I know where Hinata is. We have to hurry.”

_________

It had been a difficult couple of days for the professors. Every morning when Ukai woke up, it seemed to be to even more harrowing news.

But this? This was more than he could take sitting down.

“It makes no fucking sense,” he said, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. The dean was going to owe him for his increased cigarette purchases this week.

Next to him in the lounge, Takeda nodded absently, eyes glued to the sprawl of newspapers in front of him. His hair was sticking up a little more than usual, eyes bloodshot and ears dead to the world, pursuing his purpose. Ukai thought he looked like an overworked journalist in some crime show or something. Regardless of his friend ignoring him, he kept talking, just needing to get the words out into the open air.

“I mean, one or two kids slipping out now and then, I can see that. I remember when we were in school…” an old story bubbled to his mind, and he nearly smiled. But that didn’t matter right now, and Takeda wasn’t listening regardless. “Anyway. For so many of them to get out at once, and for no one to know where they went? There are about a thousand security cameras on thing. How the hell does that happen?”

Never mind that he should have _known_ how it had happened. That he should have been watching them. That they were his students. No, they’d been over all of that together plenty already. Now they needed to figure out how to get them back.

“Well,” Takeda said, finally looking up from his papers, “It does look like there have been an awful lot of ‘disappearances’ in the past year. I looked online, and many of them were never resolved. It seems like it might be a plot, but I haven’t heard anything about it.”

Ukai rubbed at his chin. Usually, when this kind of thing was happening, it was at least known among Heroes that there was a potential Supervillain plot going on. Why would this be kept so under water?

Their thoughtful silence was broken suddenly by a clashing sound from the corner of the lounge. Takeda only looked over curiously, but Ukai sprang to his feet, already on edge.

He peered over to where the sound came from, and saw that something had landed on the carpeted floor.

“A…video game?” he wondered. A hunch took over him, and he swept his arm out to find something solid in its path. “Hey, he said sternly, “Who’s there? Come on, now.”

The air shimmered, eventually becoming the form of Kenma Kozume.

“Kozume-san,” Takeda said, surprised, “What are you doing here?”

The boy fidgeted with his jacket sleeves, not meeting the eyes of either of the professors. “Uh….”

Ukai’s eyes narrowed, “He was snooping, is what he was doing. You know you’re not allowed to use your powers outside of class like this, right kid? What were you trying to hear?”

“Ukai-san,” Takeda said in a warning voice. But it wasn’t necessary- Kenma drew himself up and spoke with surprising confidence.

“I had to make sure that I could trust you.”

Ukai frowned, “Trust us? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Takeda had walked over, and was looking at Kenma curiously. “Why didn’t you know if you could trust us, Kenma?”

Kenma’s eyes darted between them, as if he was still unsure if he could speak to them openly. Finally, he said, “Because the dean’s involved in this.”

When Ukai and Takeda only stared, he kept talking, “I thought that, um, that he was trying to keep anyone from going after them...that why I told them, because I thought it was the only way to get Shouyou back. But now I think it might have been a trap. And I sent them right into it.”

“Wait,” Ukai said, holding his hands up, “So you know where everybody is?”

“Um…kind of?”

Takeda knit his eyebrows thoughtfully. “And you said you think the dean is involved?”

Kenma nodded. He looked like he expected them to contradict him, but the professors only shared a meaningful look between themselves. They’d both been suspicious of the Dean ever since the incident with Save the Citizen, and that suspicion had only increased with everything going on. It made perfect sense that the one responsible would be someone with a good amount of control in the school.

“Well, then why don’t you tell us where you ‘kind of’ know everyone else disappeared to,” Ukai said to Kenma, who nodded. But before he could open his mouth to speak, there was a pounding on the door that sounded a little too aggressive to be a professor looking for their afternoon fix. It burst open, revealing the dean himself standing in the doorway.

Seeing who it was, Kenma flickered and vanished, but it was a moment too late. The dean saw him, and went towards him.

When he found Ukai and Takeda blocking his path, he stopped, saying reasonably, “That boy has been caught using his powers to spy on the teachers. I think you’ll understand why, in times like these, we must take him in for questioning.”

“Maybe,” Ukai said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice, “He was just curious about why no one was trying to rescue his friends.”

The Dean’s smile grew forced. “Coach Ukai, I can assure you that we are employing all of our resources to find the missing students. I can’t imagine that you would doubt that.”

Takeda, as ever, tried to patch up the situation, “I’m sure what Ukai means is that, to a student, it might look as if-”

He was interrupted by a loud creak from the wooden door. Hearing it, the Dean spun around, eyes wide with sudden fury. “Oh no you don’t!” he shouted in his supernaturally enhanced voice, bounding after the invisible Kenma.

Ukai jumped after the Dean, and so did Takeda. When he grabbed a hold of the Dean’s arm, he swung Ukai around and gave him a hard punch to the face. A little bit too hard of a punch for a scrawny guy like that.

_So_ , Ukai thought, wiping blood from his nose, unable to fight back a snarling grin, _That’s how this is gonna be._

_Bring it on._

____________

Yachi led them down grey hallways, and into an elevator. A sheen of sweat covered her forehead, and Kageyama thought that her haste didn’t bode well for Hinata’s situation.

Only some of them could go onto the elevator, and Kageyama had insisted, despite his injuries, that one of them be him. He might be a burden now- and being held up by Daichi like a child was a very unsettling circumstance- but he knew that he needed to be there. He had a strong hunch that if anything could take down Kada, it was the combination of his own powers and Oikawa’s.

Kiyoko had come as well, and Asahi. It had been hard to convince the rest to stay put, but only so many could fit in the elevator, and they needed people there to guard their ride out, as well as the still-captive guards. In the end, seniority and necessity had won out.

After what felt like a decade, the elevator came to an unsteady stop. The doors slid open, revealing a short hallway with only a few doors, leading to a doorway at the very end.

The sight of this place sent shivers down Kageyama’s spine. He fought the urge to run.

A terrible scream ripped through the space, nearer and more awful than the one before.

“Hinata,” Kageyama gasped. They had to get there soon; his strength was already leaving him. They all sprinted to the door at the end of the hall-Kageyama had it flying off its hinges before they even reached it.

Kageyama had been expecting a fight- in fact, a part of him was longing for it- but Kada vanished as soon as she realized what was happening. For a moment, Kageyama’s skin prickled as he wondered what she could be up to, if she was in the entrance hall going after his other friends.

But everything stopped when he saw Hinata.

“Put me down,” he said to Daichi, who reluctantly set him onto his feet. Shaking, he made his way over to Hinata.

He was unconscious, laid out on the chair and strapped into a machine with dozens of wires. There were no visible wounds on his body, but he didn’t wake no matter how much they shook him.

Asahi frowned as he examined him. “I don’t…this doesn’t make any sense.”

“We have to get out of here,” Oikawa said, meeting Kageyama’s eyes. He knew that they both knew what had happened to Hinata. Neither of them wanted to say it.

Daichi picked up Hinata, uncertainly unhooking him from the machine. Kageyama held onto Asahi’s arm as they went back to the entrance hall. They found that everyone was fine. They hadn’t seen even a glimpse of Kada the entire time.

So where had she gone?

“Hinata!” Suga cried when he saw them, “What happened to him?”

“We don’t know,” Daichi said, “But we need to get him somewhere safe.”

“We can’t take him back to the school,” Yachi added, “We don’t know who we can trust there!”

“The only people who might be able to heal him are there,” Asahi argued.

“We’ll have to take our chances,” Kageyama’s mind was made up. He felt a pull to get back to Sora; he knew that it was in danger, and couldn’t just hide out while anything could happen to it. He knew that Hinata would have felt the same way.

“So, uh…” Tsukishima spoke up, gesturing at his force field full of guards, “What should I do with them?”

“We’ll bring them with us.”

Everyone stared at Kageyama. _“What?”_

“They’ve been brainwashed. We can’t just leave them here.”

Tsukishima worried at his lip; Kageyama had never seen him looking so uncertain, so shaken. “I don’t know if I can carry them the whole way.”

“You can. I can help you.”

“Kageyama,” Suga put a hand on his shoulder, “You’re hurt. Please just let us take you back safely. We can come back for them later.”

But Kageyama shook his head. No one was going to be left in Kada’s hands on his watch. Wasn’t this the reason he’d wanted to be a hero in the first place?

He met Tsukishima’s eyes, understanding passing between them. Then he closed his eyes, and pushed.

__________

Looks like this old guy has learned some new tricks, Ukai thought to himself, dodging blow after super-fast blow from the Dean. If the guy weren’t so jacked up, then he would be a pile of ashes by now. But somehow, he had an entire arsenal of powers that Ukai had never seen before. Takeda fought beside him, brave as ever in the face of a stronger opponent. Brave, and Ukai knew, indomitably clever when he had the chance.

It almost felt good to be fighting together again.

“You two are fools,” the dean said, smiling grimly, “You could have jumped in when you had the chance, and become strong like me. You could be a part of the greatest thing the world of heroes has ever known.”

Ukai dodged a lightning-fast punch. “Yeah, I dunno what you’re talking about, but I don’t think I want any part of it.”

They managed to back the dean out of the room and into the hallway. As soon as they were out, though, he thrust a hand out at Ukai, grabbing him by the throat before he could react. He struggled, but his control over his limbs became limited as the world started to fade.

A bright flash of light flickered through the hallway, like the flash of a camera but a thousand times as bright. Even in his confused state, Ukai knew that light well enough to close his eyes.

There was a pained shout, and the hand around his neck loosened its grip. When Ukai opened his eyes, he saw that the dean was clutching his face in pain. Takeda was cleaning his glasses with the edge of his shirt- while his eyeballs steamed with the effort of producing such brilliant light.

Taking advantage of the dean’s distraction, Ukai shot out his hand. Before he even knew what was happening, the man disintegrated into a pile of ashes at their feet. Ukai fought back the familiar rise of bile in his throat at the violence of his own power by thinking about his missing students.

“Well,” Takeda said, oddly collected after such an encounter, “Haven’t done that in a while.”

Ukai grinned at him, but was spared from saying anything sentimental when the walls started to tremble around them.

“What the hell?” he shouted over the rumbling. For a moment he wondered if they were having an Earthquake, but then he remembered that they weren’t even on the Earth.

A chunk of plaster fell out of the ceiling. “I think we should get out of here!” Takeda suggested.

As they ran, Ukai prayed that Kozume Kenma had gotten out of the building safely. Other than him, there shouldn’t really be anyone in there.

When they reached the exit of the building, they found the entire school in chaos.

__________

“She’s there,” Oikawa said when they began approaching the school. None of them could see what was happening yet, but Oikawa’s eyes were fixed on the glimmering speck that was Sora like he was seeing his doom in a fortune teller’s ball.

Sweating from the exertion of powering his strange machine, Tanaka turned around to glower at Oikawa. “You couldn’t have told us that a little while ago, psychic boy?”

Oikawa’s eyes flickered to him in irritation, “She’s blocking me, somehow. But some things are still coming through. It’s like listening to a radio with a crappy signal.”

Daichi frowned, “Can you fight it? What you did before to stop her powers might be the only way we can take her down.”

“Maybe,” but Oikawa’s eyes were troubled, “I can’t explain what happened before. I don’t know if I could do it again in any circumstance.”

The words fell heavy on the traveling party. They may have had Kada greatly outnumbered, but she had such a collection of abilities that it was impossible to say what she was capable of. At least her ability to bend others to her will only seemed to extend to those she had altered specifically for that purpose.

Kageyama tried his best to follow their conversation, and felt a faint tug of concern at the knowledge that Kada was there, waiting for them, when they returned. Any other time he might be ready for that fight. But now, all he could do was look at Hinata’s sleeping face, and wish that he could bring him somewhere safe.

But worry could only reach him so much through the haze of pain he was experiencing. During the hour long journey, pain had become Kageyama’s master. It clouded his thoughts, constantly threatening to pull him away from the physical world. The strain of helping Tsukishima hold up his force field full of brainwashed (and now, very confused and terrified) guards was only draining him of the energy he needed to stay conscious. As the trip went on, he could tell that Tsukki was taking on more and more of the burden. Kageyama was slipping.

As they began to come down to the school’s platforms, he could see that the entire place was in pandemonium. Students and staff alike ran in all directions, some heading for cover wherever they could find it, others attacking with all kinds of different abilities. Flashes of fire, of ice, of light, of everything imaginable streaked through the air.

The buildings trembled. It looked like many of them had already been brought to the ground. They didn’t have to worry about landing- it seemed like Kada had deactivated the school’s force fields.

When they landed, Kageyama stumbled from the flying car, desperate to find the source of the destruction. But as soon as his feet touched the familiar cobblestones, his legs buckled underneath him. Once again, the taste of blood crept onto his tongue.

He braced his hands on the cold stones, and vomited.

“Oh god,” someone said above him. He didn’t know if they were talking about what was happening at the school, or what was happening to him. Either way, he felt warm hands gripping him by the arms.

And then he didn’t feel anything.

___________

Hinata’s world came back to him slowly, and strangely.

When he was ten years old, Hinata had broken his wrist playing a little too enthusiastically on some monkey bars. To reset the bone, he’d been put under. He could still remember the bizarre feeling of coming back to himself and realizing that parts of him were not the same as when he had gone to sleep- a cast was on his arm; his bones were in a different place than they had been before. An unsettling reminder of how the world went on while he was asleep. Of how it could affect him even when he wasn’t aware of it.

This was like that, only the body he came back into was a thousand times more foreign to him. The body he woke up in this time was the body of a stranger; it was denser, heavier, it’s senses sharper. He opened his eyes, and the lights blinded him. He tried to move, but his limbs felt like they were full of sand.

He groaned- at least his voice felt familiar in his throat. The sound must have been heard, because someone was saying his name.

“Hinata? Hinata!”

_I don’t think I am that person anymore,_ Hinata thought nonsensically. _I’m in someone else’s body._

“Hinata.”

Moved to action by the desperation in that voice, Hinata cracked his eyes open again. This time the light didn’t seem quite so blinding, even though the world still seemed to glow with a sharper focus than before. _Before? Before what?_

_What happened to me?_

“What happened?” Hinata slurred, blinking at his surroundings. He was lying on a couch. Turning his head slightly, he could see that he was in a circular room, with buttons and controls lining the silvery walls. The Hideout. 

Hinata had to be dreaming.

“Hey there,” the voice above him said.

“Suga-san?”

Sugawara nodded, smiling. “It’s alright, just don’t move too much. Asahi!”

Despite Suga’s warnings, Hinata sat up. It was surprisingly easy- his sleepiness had shaken off of him more quickly than it usually would, and he could feel no pain except a slight throbbing behind each of his temples. Actually, he felt pretty fantastic. He just didn’t feel like himself, and the sensation of displacement had him confused and a little nauseous.

He saw that the Hideout was stuffed full of people- many of them lying down on blankets and furniture, while others bustled around, carrying water bottles and bandages. Daichi was sitting on the coffee table next to him, cradling his own arm like he’d been wounded.

Soon Asahi’s gentle face appeared in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Hinata said honestly, “Just…weird.”

“Weird how?”

“I dunno,” Hinata shook his head, trying to clear it, “It’s almost like I feel too good.”

Asahi smiled, “Well, it could be worse I guess. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with you, but your physiology does feel a bit…different. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

“Okay,” Hinata didn’t like the thought of waiting. His muscles felt like they wanted to run, to jump, to work. But for now, he decided to comply. “What’s going on? Why are we down here?”

All three of the third years shared a look that Hinata didn’t like very much, before Suga started to explain.

“When you all ran off after Kageyama, we came after you. We found Oikawa and Kageyama right in the front entrance, and everyone else after that, except for you. Oikawa did something to stop Kada using her powers…it scared her, we think, and she disappeared when we came to rescue you. You were hooked up to some kind of machine.”

Hinata nodded, his awareness of the throbbing in his temples increasing for a moment. He remembered the small, bright hallway, the room at the end- the wires and the dials and the endless, agonizing pain. He shut the memories down as they started to overwhelm him.

“I remember that,” he said, “Then what happened?”

Daichi picked it up from there, “We left. But when Kada had vanished, she’d come here. To Sora. She’s still here now, and she’s destroying everything. Oikawa is trying to stop her powers like he did before, but she’s staying too far out of his range. We don’t know how much longer we can hold her. We think she wants to take the entire school for herself.”

Hinata felt a rush of terror at the thought of Kada being there, at the school. Then he felt anger that she would dare to come here.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked suddenly. Again, the third years shared a pained look.

“Most of them are up there fighting,” Daichi said, “The wounded have been coming down here where it’s safe.”

Suga placed a hand on Hinata’s shoulder. “Kageyama is hurt badly. We have him in a bed in Ukai Senior’s house- someone put a force field over it, since we started to run out of space. We don’t know what- Hinata! Wait!”

Hinata was already sitting up, but all three of them grabbed him. “I just want to see him,” he said, feeling even more outside of himself now, barely aware of what he was saying, “Just let me see him. Please.”

“Of course you can,” Suga said, “Just let us bring you there. We still don’t know for sure if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” he said, but he let Suga and Daichi lead him out of the Hideout. On his way out, Daichi called out a thanks to Asahi for healing his arm.

They went up the stairs, and Hinata couldn’t help but remember the first time he’d seen them. When he’d just been excited to go to a party and spend time with all of his new friends. When he’d been worried about not being put on the Hero track, and thought that Kageyama was the son of a villain, bound to make his life a living hell.

The walk through the house was like a dream. Finally, they slid open a door to reveal Kageyama lying in a bed, a woman Hinata recognized as one of the school’s professional healers sitting beside him.

“Can we have a minute?” Suga asked her.

The woman nodded, “He’s stable. I hate to say it, but I think he’s going to need a regular doctor to really fix him up- that kind of internal work is tricky stuff.”

As she lefy the room, she told them not to excite Kageyama too much; he needed his rest. Suga and Daichi left Hinata to go in alone. Outside of the window, the shimmering red of an unfamiliar force field distorted the sunlight, causing the room to look like it was underwater in a crimson sea.

Kageyama was awake. When Hinata took a seat beside him, he looked up for a moment as if trying to decide if he was seeing things.

“Hinata?”

“Uh, Yeah.” Hinata wasn’t sure what to say. He’d never seen Kageyama look so vulnerable; his face was so pale, and he looked like he needed to sleep for at least a month. Hinata’s heart ached. He wondered if Kageyama was in pain.

He realized that his hand was moving towards Kageyama’s forehead, and quickly drew it back. The he remembered that they were under attack, and that they could very well not make it out of this alive, and that Kageyama probably didn’t have anyone in here to comfort him in that way. So he let his hand rest on Kageyama’s forehead, rubbing his thumb over his bangs.

Kageyama closed his eyes comfortably. “You’re okay?” he murmured.

“Yup.”

Kageyama snorted, his eyes opening again. “’Yup’? Really? I thought you were dead.”

“Shut up,” Hinata said, smiling. Kageyama smiled back, clearly happy to see Hinata despite the rest of the world crashing down around them.

Hinata couldn’t help it anymore. Even if he didn’t know where they stood, even if they had more pressing issues to think about…he couldn’t let what was possibly his last chance pass him by. Plus, he’d never been very good at controlling his impulses, and right then every cell of his stranger’s body was screaming _kiss him._

So Hinata kissed him.

Even though he struck suddenly, he kissed gently, not sure if he was wanted. Wanting to convey all of the softness he felt looking at Kageyama, just sitting there and talking to him like nothing was wrong.

But when he pulled away, Kageyama followed him. Laughing, Hinata moved so that he was sitting on the side of the bed, taking Kageyama’s face in his hands. After a moment, Kageyama tried to move his arm to Hinata’s back but groaned in pain.

Hinata drew back, looking at Kageyama with concern. “M’ fine,” he grunted, “Actually, I’m great.”

Sobered by Kageyama’s pain, he bent down to give him a few more small, serious kisses. He’d never thought about how many things you could communicate by kissing- maybe this would make it easier for them to express themselves to each other. They were both physical people, anyway.

Then Hinata pulled away, getting to his feet before Kageyama could reach for him again.

He must have recognized the look in Hinata’s eyes, because he said, “You’re going out there.”

“Of course I am,” Hinata tried to sound more confident than terrified. In a way, he almost didn’t have to fake it- as much as he wanted to stay with Kageyama, as much as he wanted to stay with him forever, he felt a pull towards the doorway that he couldn’t resist. The call of what he knew he was meant for.

“I’m coming too,” Kageyama said. Hinata gaped at him.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Kageyama’s eyes flashed, and he tried to sit up, only to go pale and put a hand to his mouth like he was about to throw up.

Hinata sighed, placing a kiss on his forehead. “I’m sorry,” he said, “You have to stay here and get better.”

Then, he went to the door as quickly as he could. He was worried that if he didn't go now, he wouldn't be able to tear himself away.

______________

Suga and Daichi met him near the exit of the house, waiting for him to head back out into the fray. Hinata felt a swell of gratitude for the upperclassmen for not leaving without him, for seeing him as an equal instead of trying to convince him to stay behind.

When they stepped out, it looked like Kada was no longer on the town platform- but she clearly had been. All down the residential street, houses were crushed. A few people were walking around, trying to get the injured to safety.

“Why is she doing this?” Hinata asked, voice hollow.

Daichi looked equally grim. “We think she wants to take the school- rebuild it as her new fortress. Then she won’t have to look far for people to experiment on.”

Hinata’s stomach twisted. “We can’t let that happen.”

There were screams and explosions coming from the Orange District’s platform. Daichi and Suga ran as fast as they could, but Hinata flew ahead of them, knowing that there was no time to waste.

At first, he didn’t see where all of the attacks were coming from. Kada was even higher in the sky than he was- she floated far above the school, raining attacks of every kind from the clouds. Whatever Oikawa had done must have really scared her if she felt the need to keep this much distance.

“Hinata!” a familiar voice called him, and he let his feet touch onto the ground.

Yachi flung herself at him before he even knew what was happening. When she pulled away, he saw that her clothes were singed and torn, and she was bleeding from a deep gash in her forehead. But she smiled in relief at the sight of him.

“Hey, Hinata!” another voice shouted- it was Nishinoya, in the middle of sending great lightning blasts in Kada’s direction, “Good to see you’re not dead!”

“Thanks!” Hinata yelled back. On the platform, he could see nearly all of his friends from the Orange District, as well as a dozen other students, all trying their best against this impossible foe. He saw Iwaizumi protecting Oikawa from attacks while the telepath focused his attention upwards, clearly straining, and Takeda and Ukai protecting their students. In the sky above him, Kiyoko was hovering, trying to get Kada with her laser eyes, but she couldn’t get too close without getting hit by Kada’s attacks.

Hinata stared upwards for a moment, thinking. Or maybe just feeling.

“I’m going up there!” he shouted over the din.

Yachi’s eyes widened in horror, “What?”

“I think I can do something to stop her!” he said, “Trust me!”

He didn’t give her any time to reply before he was soaring upwards. The wind rushed in his ears as he passed Kiyoko, who called out to him to be careful. He dodged attack after attack, but eventually he couldn’t get any closer without being knocked out of the sky.

“Come closer, little hero,” Kada said smugly, her voice unnaturally amplified. Hinata thought that they must have been able to hear it even down below.

“Don’t you want to become stronger?” she taunted, “I’m not done with you yet. And you’re such a tiny little thing. Don’t you want to be like your father?”

“Don’t talk about him,” Hinata growled, sure that she could hear him despite the distance. The new strength pulsed through him now, waiting for when it could be of use. He tapped into his heightened awareness, reaching out for something that he couldn’t see yet.

Then he felt it- something prodding at his mind, trying to get in. But something wasn’t right. Kada was knocking on the door, but no one was answering.

He heard her growl of frustration above him, but she said nothing, not revealing why she couldn’t break into Hinata’s mind. As good as it was that she couldn’t control him, Hinata started to worry. What if the process wasn’t finished enough to establish the connection he needed?

But he could feel it there. He reached out again, as careful as he could be not to let her in. Then he heard another frustrated scream, and all of the commotion stopped.

He was halting her powers. Hinata smiled, even as he felt her pushing back against him. He remembered lying in that chair, remembered how she’d left him there while his body and mind were transformed. She’d opened up her own mind to hers- but hadn’t gotten to the parts that would make him controllable.

He soared up to her now as she fell out of the sky, knowing that there was nothing she could do to him. It was a strain to keep such a great amount of power held back- like a dam in the middle of a rushing river. But he held firm, and, using his newfound strength, grabbed Kada around the neck, stopping her fall.

She stared into his eyes, full of a human fear that made Hinata’s stomach churn. He thought of Kageyama, of Oikawa, of his dad…and he hung there, in the air, not knowing what to do.

He felt the tug in his stomach of something influencing him. At first, he thought that he’d let Kada slip into his mind, but this influence was physical instead of mental. It was familiar, and when Hinata looked down, he could just see Kageyama standing on the platform, leaning on their friends and looking up with a desperate expression.

Hinata took a deep breath, trying to let go of the frightening desire to let Kada drop to the Earth. He felt Kageyama pull him down again- not enough to force him, but enough to make his point. As he descended, he felt the cold sweat that was covering his forehead.

As soon as he touched down, a couple of people in uniforms stepped up to put Kada in special handcuffs- government Heroes. It was about time they showed up.

Kageyama rushed up to meet him. Even though Kageyama was the injured one, it felt like he was the one keeping Hinata from falling.

“I might’ve done it,” he whispered into Kageyama’s shoulder.

“I wouldn’t have blamed you,” Kageyama said. He stepped back, and tilted his head towards Oikawa, who was standing with Iwaizumi and looking shaken. “But when she was talking to Oikawa, she mentioned something about them being so linked that one of them couldn’t get hurt without the other also being affected. I was worried that you would be the same way.”

Shocked, Hinata looked over to Oikawa, who just shrugged.

“I still probably would have done it,” he said.

Iwaizumi punched him lightly on the arm.

Kada struggled against the people holding her, but it was no use- they were using her own technology against her. Ukai and Takeda walked up to the people from the government.

“I think we need to have a talk about what happened here,” Takeda said with a pleasant (and very threatening) smile.

Tsukishima came over to join them. “Um, I have a lot of really confused people in a force field over there. Is there something you could do about that?”

“I think you can let them out now,” Takeda said, “Since she’d cut off from her powers, they should be free from her influence.”

Still slumped against him, Hinata could feel Kageyama’s sigh of relief.He hoped that now, he could also finally be free of her.

__________

With all of the excitement, Hinata kind of forgot about his phone, still lying impatiently on his desk from when he’d put it there three nights before. He didn’t get back to his dorm until late that night, after they’d been thoroughly interrogated by the professional Heroes and government people about every detail of everything that had happened. Hinata tried not to be too suspicious of them- after all, that’s where he would be in a few years, if he played his cards right- but what had happened with the dean made his hair stand up a little at the sight of authority figures.

The only professors who he still found it easy to trust were Ukai and Takeda; they were the ones to break into their students’ celebrating that night.

“I think that you all owe your families a very long and explanatory phone call,” Ukai said. That ruined the festive atmosphere faster than if he’d come in and started spraying them all with ice cold water.

Tanaka’s eyes went dinner-plate round. “Did they know we were missing from the school?” he asked, voice cracking with panic.

Ukai sighed, “Luckily for you, the Dean was keeping all communication from getting out.”

“But they’re still probably worried,” Takeda said.

_Shit,_

Hinata thought when he got back to his room and saw his phone with two dozen messages showing on the screen, each more frantic than the last at Hinata’s lack of response. His heart clenched to think of what his mother had gone through these past few days- probably calling the school when he didn’t answer the tenth time, only to get either silence or some roundabout response that she would see through in a heartbeat.

Hinata took a deep breath before pressing the call button.

___________

Within a day, parents were coming to the school by the hundreds- Hinata’s own mother, Natsu in tow, showed up just to see for herself that he was actually alright. He even got to meet Kageyama’s parents, who were surprisingly sweet. They kept thanking Hinata for going after their son (even though he technically failed) and saying how brave he was.

“Why aren’t you more like your parents?” he teased Kageyama as they strolled through the gardens late that night, looking out at the night sky. Thankfully, they’d gotten a surgeon brought it to take care of Kageyama- he was still sore, but recovering quickly, able to walk around now without a problem.

Kageyama scowled. “You’d be too annoying if I complimented you all the time.”

“Yeah, well, you could compliment me _sometimes,_ ” Hinata insisted, slipping his hand into Kageyama’s, “Everything is fine in moderation.”

“Uh, well…It was really brave of you to come after me. Everything you did was brave. I’m proud of you.”

Hinata stopped in his tracks, feeling his face heat up at the earnest compliment, even though he’d asked for it.

“Hinata? Are you okay?”

Hinata looked away. “Well, I think it was really awesome that you brought all those people back with you even though you were hurt,” he blurted. Now it was Kageyama’s turn to blush.

“Uh…thanks.”

Hinata laughed when Kageyama lunged at him to give him a kiss on the cheek.

___________

Unfortunately, the school was so damaged that, even with the supernaturally gifted working to rebuild, it would still be some time before classes could start up as usual. On top of not having a dean, and having hordes of concerned parents showing up to retrieve their kids, the school had no choice but to close early and try to make up for the lost time next term.

In high school, a longer vacation would have made Hinata ecstatic with joy. But now he just felt sad that he would have to leave his friends.

Of course, the last night before they were all being forced out of their dorms was filled by one last party in the Hideout. Instead of dancing and playing games, Hinata and his friends mostly just talked, chatting about everything that had happened in the new light that came from days to feel safe from danger again. The third years talked about doing field work in the Spring, and everyone else fought back tears at the thought of them not being there.

After the party, Hinata took Kageyama out into the training net. He slipped through the gap he’d used to escape a week before, and beckoned Kageyama to come after him.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow. “You know I can’t fly right?”

“Yup. I’m trying to lure you to your death.”

“Hmph.” Despite what Hinata said, he slipped through, falling into Hinata’s waiting arms.

“I’m so strong now. Are you seeing this?” But Kageyama only groaned, burying his face into Hinata’s shoulder to avoid seeing the ground far below. “Hey, don’t worry, I’ve got you. Do you wanna go back?”

A moment passed, and Kageyama shook his head. “Just show me what you wanted to show me.”

“I was just trying to be romantic,” Hinata admitted. “Here, stand on my feet.”

Kageyama grumbled, but he shifted until he was almost in a standing position. Hinata gripped onto him tight, even though it didn’t take much effort to make sure he wouldn’t fall. It was a clear night, and below them they could see city lights.

It was cold, but Hinata kissed Kageyama until he could feel warmth to the tips of his toes.

___________

“Goodbye,” Hinata sobbed the next morning as the third years hugged him goodbye. The more he tried to stop crying, the worse it seemed to get.

“Don’t worry, Hinata,” Sugawara soothed him, “We’ll keep in touch!”

“You’d better,” Nishinoya said, choked with tears.

“Are you ready, Hinata?” Yachi said, once again laden with her many bags, “Our train is here!”

Hinata groaned, turning around to give Kageyama one last hug. “Call me every day,” he instructed, unable to imagine a world where Kageyama wasn’t a constant fixture in his life.

“I will,” Kageyama said seriously.

Before they stepped out onto the platform, Kiyoko reached out and grabbed Yachi’s hand. They’d said their goodbyes already, but Kiyoko pulled Yachi into a sudden kiss, seeming overcome by resolve.

Yachi’s bags toppled to the ground. Feeling a little out of place, Hinata awkwardly picked them up for her.

“Oh!” Yachi said to Kiyoko, strawberry-red when they broke apart, “Uh, wow. Thanks!”

Kiyoko laughed, giving Yachi one last hug and promise to call. When they took their seats on the train, Yachi buried her face in her hands.

“I can’t believe I said _thanks!_ ” She wailed. Hinata laughed, giving his best friend a conciliatory pat on the back as the train smoothly left the station. At the sight of the school disappearing from view, fresh tears pricked Hinata’s eyes. But he knew that it would still be waiting for him in the Spring.

And after that, just a little too far over the horizon for him to see, everything else was waiting too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't do the flying kiss but then I was like. What is the point of writing an entire Sky High AU if they don't kiss in the sky?
> 
> I can't believe this story is over!! Again, your support means so much to me, I remember every nice comment <3 On the subject of an epilogue, I am planning one, but not making any promises about it since my life is about to get pretty busy. Either way I'd like it to work as it's own little story (probably taking place when they're all done with school and heroes!) that I will post on it's own, so I'm marking this as finished. 
> 
> Thank you so much for sticking with this to the end!!!


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